NiGHTS Into Dreams
by clsnham
Summary: Adaptation of the Sega Saturn video game. *COMPLETE*
1. The Visionary

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NiGHTS Into Dreams 

Video Game Adaptation

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Chapter 1 

~_The Visionary~_

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There are many worlds around us. They can be no bigger than a pinhead, or larger than our galaxy. People often try to explore these places, but many of them are left untouched. One world is visited quite often, most see it every night, yet it is still a mystery to them. 

This is the realm of dreams.

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On the plain of dreams exists a place called Nightopia. This was once a beautiful, peaceful world, where dreamers were safe. But to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction-- the opposite of Nightopia is Nightmare. This is a dark and dangerous place, ruled by a skilled sorcerer known as Wizeman the Wicked. The result of this- Wizeman's minions, Nightmaren, started to overrun Nightopia, and in doing so initiated a chain of events that could possibly have brought destruction to the real world. 

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Fortunately, there is some hope. All five dream energy types are required to break through the barriers separating dreams and reality, and one type in particular is very uncommon. This is the only thing standing between Wizeman and total domination of our world. 

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So far- 

--

The cat-like eyes scanned the dream, fading from a deep, swirling purple, the color of sunset, to a wild ocean blue as he flew into the light. There were no dreamers in sight today. A few Nightopians, those little conehead angels that occupied the dreams, and some birds were around, but that was all. This was unusual; many humans visited the Spring Valley dream at night. The Nightmaren wondered if it was because all the Ideya were taken.

It would make sense. After all, he had been at this post for awhile, and he was a first-level Nightmaren, the most intelligent of the species. In fact, he was the best out of the first-levels, too. Everyone knew who he was. He always wore the same uniform, the purple, pink and yellow one with the white sleeves and jester hat. The sharpness in his eyes, the strength in his expression, the demeanor of a person who knew how to handle everything that came his way. This guy was in charge. But he was more often recognized by that ruby-like gem embedded in his chest. It seemed to stand out, and not just in sight. The material was unbreakable as far as anyone could tell, and it had a strange aura. Some kind of mysterious but somewhat familiar energy. Anyone who saw it saw power beyond the farthest reaches of their imagination (besides the fact that there wasn't much space for one in their days), although it never actually did anything except glimmer unusually bright.

"NiGHTS" a low, distorted voice called from behind him.

Another first-level Nightmaren hovered there. His pale face was shadowed by his red and black striped hat, but NiGHTS could still see his eyes. They were an icy blue, rivaling the coldest snowstorms of Frozen Bell. Those eyes always sent a slashing chill through even the calmest and impassive Nightmaren. The eyes weren't the only thing that made him seem so threatening. Matching them was an unmoving, clay-like face, a sinister smile painted across it. He was strongly built, wearing mostly gray and black, with patches of red and purple breaking the stony pattern. Black wristbands and gloves with no fingers covered his hands, as if to restrain his sharp golden claws.

"What, Reala?" NiGHTS replied, slightly annoyed. Spring Valley was _his_ sector, and he never hesitated to point that out. Reala, his counterpart, was assigned to Stick Canyon. They were often paired together on missions, but it was somewhat strange, considering they were almost exact opposites. Reala often made fun of NiGHTS because he had "personality", to which NiGHTS would quickly respond by calling him a checkerboard. Reala had a personality of his own, but it was chilly and heartless, just like Wizeman. He was always trying to get Wizeman's favor. However, NiGHTS had proven himself to be the better fighter. Out of the group of five top fighters- NiGHTS, Sunset, Dusk, Daye, and Reala- they were the only two to survive the tests in the first place. Now Reala was always trying to show him up. Of course, out of those five he had been considered the oddball, and he didn't want to be known like that.

"Have you found anything yet?"

NiGHTS shook his head. He had never seen this priority-one red Ideya before. To any outsider's eyes, these light spheres would be nothing more than nicely-colored lanterns, even to the dreamers that they belonged to. Only the Nightmaren knew the potential these things had, and only Wizeman knew the absolute power of the courage Ideya. This was what they were searching for. NiGHTS himself didn't like it that much, it was almost as if Wizeman was obsessed over it. He sometimes wondered if it even existed, or if Wizeman was just believing in some ancient Nightopian legend. This was most likely it, he decided. No human he'd ever seen would have dream energy labeled as "courage", and he still didn't understand why it was the most powerful. He had gone over it several times in his mind. White was purity and innocence, a sign of a clear and untainted mind and was usually found in small children. Green was maturity and wisdom gained from experience, lessons that could only be learned from time. Yellow, or hope, was with those who kept a good outlook and believed the best would come out eventually. Blue was knowledge, and being able to retain and bring up facts. Courage didn't seem any better than knowledge to him.

"Keep looking. I know you and your mistrust about this unseen Ideya theory or whatever, but we've really got nothing better to do."

Nothing better to do? NiGHTS stared at him blankly. He could find tons of better things to occupy their time. Just plain flying would be better.

But it wasn't just plain flying to him. Even though the Nightopian sky had its limits, it still was the only place he wanted to be. Just soaring through the open air, a fresh breeze carrying him higher over mountains into a perfect indigo atmosphere-

Reala smiled as he noticed NiGHTS slipping into a daydream again. "You should just leave it to me. I'm going to find one before you do."

NiGHTS smirked back at him. "You just wait" he replied, flying off.

He landed on a grassy foothill and surveyed the area. He saw leaves moving in the trees nearby, each and every one moving in the breeze, every single blade of grass captured in his sight. Every color and movement was recorded in his memory. Those keen eyes never missed anything, especially out in the sunlight. All his time in nightmares had left his eyes adjusted to the dark.

And yet, there was something missing. He couldn't help but think that there may be something he didn't see. It was only a small, fading thought in his mind.

More Nightopians speeded by, chasing each other in what looked like a race. He wondered if they reached a finish line how they could tell each other apart. They all looked identical to him, even their uniforms were the same- blue, with red sleeves, a puffy white collar and little white boots. It was hard to tell if their wings were feathered or bug-like, but they were always sugar pink.

He finally caught sight of someone. A small girl was wandering into a valley, the sun reflecting brightly off her sunshine-colored hair. Her eyes held that child-like innocence, that NiGHTS always found so strange. A white and yellow Ideya encircled her, and she watched with fascination as she skipped along. That was, until two third-levels swooped down and plucked the Ideya from their paths. The girl instantly disappeared, as did everyone else when their Ideya was taken. No matter how powerful or what type of Ideya it was, it was the way to get into Nightopia, even to dream in the first place. Once it was gone, there was no return.

A voice echoed through NiGHTS' head. It was Wizeman- no one else in the nightmares knew any kind of telepathy, or had that unsettling tone that silenced any other thought in a person's head. "Report back to the main nightmare at once" he commanded.

-------

All of the level one Nightmaren were soon grouped together and listening to Wizeman's instructions. NiGHTS glanced around nervously, several times. Though he was the best fighter, he was also the smallest. Reala was the closest one to his height, a few inches taller. The rest of them were huge monsters that overshadowed him like thunderclouds. Even though the first-level Nightmaren were little in numbers, and he knew they never go after him first, he felt closed in. He hated that feeling more than anything else in the world.

Of course, all of the Nightmaren felt the same way about Wizeman. He was a towering figure, and his wavy blue cloak added to his size greatly. Silver armor and a spiked helmet gave him somewhat of a powerful air, and just the sound of his voice could terrify one so much they would turn to ice, even one that lived entirely without fear. _This_ was just his outer appearance. They all knew his magical capabilities and mental capacity was almost limitless, and the Nightmaren would rather see them as little as possible.

"There are currently two dreamers visiting Nightopia that have the courage Ideya. I can sense their energy- they have been here several times in the past few days, and it is likely they will appear again."

Each of Wizeman's amethyst-like eyes, one placed in each of his six free-floating, blocky hands, were focused on one Nightmaren. "Those Ideya are vital to our ultimate goal. Each of you will cover your normal main dream. You are dismissed."

NiGHTS floated out of the nightmare, towards his usual post. He was becoming irritated with this same old boring agenda, with no results. Maybe this was that missing thing that crossed his mind before. His thoughts were beginning to stray, pushing out the orders that he was just given and making way for a lazy haze that matched the atmosphere of the dream he was headed for.

Spring Valley was no different than when he left. Upon his arrival, he followed a creek that ran alongside the edge of the dream. His mind was completely wandering off now, and he wove a path in the air, flying over and under stone bridges, looked down at his reflection in the crystal-clear stream. His face always seemed so gloomy to the rest of the dream, even on those rare occasions when he actually felt content. He decided not to spoil the moment by following that train of thought, and spiraled higher into the sky. The sparkling stars that fell from his hands hovered in that corkscrew pattern for a moment, then dropped out of sight.

His next course took him along the creek again. This stream winded through the valley, starting as a trickle at the top of the mountains and ending in a roaring waterfall in the lowest part of the dream. He tried not to look down this time. He passed that giant tree, the one that grew on a tiny island right in the middle of the creek, it's roots closing down on the island like a giant brown claw. Something caught his eye, stopping him still in the air.

Another girl wandered through the hills, gazing at the landscape. This one appeared to be in her mid-teens, wearing a t-shirt and shorts with a pinkish-red theme. Her hair was tied up at the top of her head with a golden clasp, and her carnation-pink eyes darted from area to area with a peculiar brightness. NiGHTS counted her Ideya.

The total came to four. That was pretty impressive, considering the strength of each one was almost blinding him with its light.

But as he tried to approach her, the gem in his chest suddenly grew very warm, startling him so that he let out a small yelp. He still kept a watchful eye on the girl.

A new Ideya started to form. It took the shape of a sphere, and a white spark grew inside of it. It was very faint, he could barely make it out against the bright backdrop of the dream.

A shock ran through his mind as he realized the color of the energy.

At first he could only hover in place, stunned. He hadn't realized how much he had doubted this Ideya's existence until he actually found out it was real. _So Wizeman's not nuts after all-_

Then his face lit up. He couldn't believe how lucky he was! Just to run into this powerful dreamer, with the red Ideya attached, without even trying! He glided down and descended in front of her, surprising her a bit.

But a tiny voice was speaking up in the back of his mind. One that before had been lying dormant, trapped in a apathetic fog that just left NiGHTS to ignore Wizeman's orders. It had now broken free, practically screaming at him to to get away from this girl and pretend he whole thing never happened.

He knew he couldn't go back, though. Wizeman was probably watching him from an unseen place. Even if one dreamer escaped, that was enough to lose everything.

The girl's eyes widened slightly as NiGHTS stepped closer to her. She spoke to him. Her voice was sweet, and kind, even though it was shaking. But the words made no sense. _This human language-_ NiGHTS shook his head.

Suddenly, when he was no more than two feet away, a surge of emotions came, feelings of confusion and fear. A terrible blow ran through him as if the girl had thrown a boulder right into him, and he involuntarily stepped back a pace. These feelings flooded his mind like a rushing river, much stronger than anything NiGHTS had ever felt before. The flooding sensation in his mind began to show on the surface, controlling his movements. He stumbled backwards and into the creek.

The feelings subsided as quickly as they came, and as NiGHTS rose up from the creek and squeezed the water from his hat, a different confusion came. Then he realized that the first wave was not his own thinking. He had somehow sensed what was happening in the girl's mind. He stared at her incredulously. _How can one little helpless creature be capable of such powerful things?_

She had her hand over her mouth, trying to hide a smile. NiGHTS calmed a little, but he still wasn't in a laughing mood. He climbed up the bank and walked to her again. "It's not safe" he warned quietly. "You must run."

She showed a hand signal that made it clear she did not understand him. He tried hand signals of his own, but the girl only shook her head. It was useless. He didn't know what else to do except just fly away.

---------

Unfortunately, NiGHTS had been right about Wizeman. He had been monitoring the Nightmaren and had seen the whole thing. Naturally, he wasn't happy about it. "I am losing patience with you" he growled, his not-so-contained anger shaking the walls. "You are well-known and respected around here-"

"Says you" a shrill voice snickered.

The both turned to the corner. A tall first-level Nightmaren was leaning against the wall. Most newbies that saw him would have a hard time trying to tell what position he was in, due to the fact that anything besides his boots and gloves were invisible. The majority of his face was shaded by his red striped hat, but by the devilish glint in his sparkling blue eyes, they could tell he was the one who called out. "Jackle, what are you doing here?" Wizeman demanded.

Jackle's confident and cool appearance disappeared in a cringe. He laughed nervously and pushed his flower-like cape aside. "Uh, nothing-- just came to report" he answered, shuffling his favorite deck of cards in his hands.

NiGHTS eyed him in disbelief. Wizeman had made it clear that he didn't want to see Jackle playing with those cards anywhere near him. Fortunately for Jackle, he had been too focused on NiGHTS to notice. "Not now, finish your other duties."

The enraged eyes turned back to NiGHTS. "Instead, recently, you have been constantly disobeying my orders. You have one more chance to prove yourself. Now get out of my sight!"

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He's going to be watching me anyway- 

NiGHTS flew away silently, lost in his thoughts. Puzzlement clouded his mind. He couldn't figure out what was going wrong. He knew he was bored, but he had been bored with his training too, and he still followed it. There seemed to be a rising new purpose for all of this-

Reala was returning from his own search when he saw NiGHTS leaving. "Heard you're in trouble" he called. "You screwed up and left without the Ideya again, didn't you?"

NiGHTS stopped and hovered in front of him. Reala half-grinned, expecting to hear one of NiGHTS usual quips about his hat. But he caught the stony expression and found himself lost in NiGHTS' eyes. Lost in a world of frustration and bewilderment, and some kind of sorrow that was buried far down inside, as if the maren himself didn't even know it. NiGHTS whooshed by without saying a word, his silence trailing behind him like a cold wind.

Reala decided to follow him. There was suspicion growing inside of him- he hadn't seen anything like that from anyone here. He trailed NiGHTS all the way to Spring Valley.

That girl was still wandering around, looking carefully at everything as if she was expecting someone. Reala took his mind off what he was doing and for a second and watched her. _Four Ideya? There's something you don't see every day-_

Then he saw it. That faded crimson floating around slowly, trying to keep up with the other Ideya. Reala grinned, forgetting why he came out in the first place.

Just then NiGHTS landed in front of the girl. Reala's face fell. _Ahh, it's his post anyway. But then again, I could wait for him-hehe_

NiGHTS placed one finger on her forehead. This wasn't in the normal routine for retrieving Ideya. _Maybe it's a special technique for the courage Ideya,_ Reala reasoned.

To his surprise, the girl and the Ideya both faded away. Reala's eyes widened. He chose that moment to make his presence known. "What's going on?"

NiGHTS was the startled one now. He had thought he was alone, but judging by the shocked expression, he could tell Reala saw everything. "Nothing" was the only reply he could come up with before flying off.

Reala didn't bother following this time. His mind was working faster than it ever did before. Two sides of his mind were clashing, one side with a distant, almost impossible theory, and the other trying desperately to come up with some kind of other logic for his actions. But the theory overtook his mind like a ton of bricks crushing a tiny glass.

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He's protecting the dreamers- he doesn't want the mission completed! 

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The leaves of the tree rustled slightly in the breeze, drawing NiGHTS' eyes to them. He caught one as it drifted down towards the creek. This huge tree he rested under was the only place in the valley that had adequate shade and good ground. He liked the nice weather in Nightopia, but in the mid-"day" the sunlight was too intense for his eyes. The sun didn't find its way into Nightmare too often. The other trees were too short, and the mountains only had a shadow when the sun wasn't right over head. Plus it was a bit too windy.

Wizeman's orders sliced through his thoughts again. He put a mental block against it and crawled to the other side of the tree. These commands had been coming to him for the past hour. If he knew Reala at all, Wizeman already heard about the red Ideya.

A spray of water rained down on him. Three Nightopians were playing in the creek. He gave them an irritated growl, but as he watched, curiosity grew inside. They all looked so cheerful, without a care in the world. However, because they didn't know about the dangers around, they were practically defenseless. He wondered if it was better to be prepared and be worried, or to be happy like this, and not know that you could disappear from the dream any second. To not know of anything called a purpose--

These thoughts took him in another direction. He wasn't going back to Wizeman, it was too late. Who knew what kind of consequences awaited him if he went back, even voluntarily?

But if second in command of Nightmare wasn't for him, what was his purpose? Why was he thinking about these things he would have never dared to dream about before? Was someone trying to tell him something? Or was it a part of his mind, previously unexplored, trying to contact him after being pushed away by everything else he had been told?

Then a new idea formed. Maybe these Nightopians did have a purpose. Maybe they weren't just dumb animals, stuck in an endless circle of mindless games and an unknown terror just before everything started all over again. He wanted to know what they were thinking.

He landed in the water with a small splash. They noticed him, and were a little startled, but they continued with their game. NiGHTS figured these Nightopians were probably younger, they didn't know of Nightmaren yet. "Hello?" he ventured.

They didn't fly away, but they didn't respond, either. NiGHTS sighed and gave up on them. "I should look for the other dreamer, anyway."

Another dream could have what he was looking for. NiGHTS was searching for a quick path when he felt he was being watched. Glancing back, he saw Reala a few feet behind. He slowed and faced his baffled counterpart.

Reala spoke first. "Why haven't you come back? It's been an hour since you were first called."

"I'm not coming back."

"What?!"

"You heard me."

He stared at NiGHTS in shock. His theory was correct, and he couldn't believe it. NiGHTS was smarter than that-- why would he do this? He was the highest ranked Nightmaren, he had almost succeeded in finishing up their most important task. But he was just throwing it all away now. Normally Reala would have just taken advantage of this situation, but for some reason he couldn't accept it. "I'm going to have to report back, you know."

NiGHTS crossed his arms and turned away. "Go ahead."

"Last chance. You know, you could be charged for treason for these acts. And then what? You'll be hunted down for all your life, day and night, until we do find you. You'll have no place to go, nothing to do-"

"I SAID I DON'T CARE!"

A startled expression came from this outburst, but soon it turned to an angry glare. Reala's shock and disapproval made way for plain old rage. NiGHTS could be stupid if he wanted to, and what would Reala care? "Whatever" he snarled, flying away.

After Reala left, NiGHTS began his search again. He now had limited time to find the other dreamer. But until Reala had come up and warned him, he had not realized the seriousness of the situation. And Reala did have a good question, the same one he was thinking of before- why?

He still could not think of a complete answer.

But he soon lost the question when an unfamiliar voice spoke from behind him. A teenage boy, with blue hair and t-shirt, and green shorts had crept up behind him, his deep blue eyes bright and alive with question. NiGHTS watched the Ideya, and like a faded rainbow, the red one came out from its hiding place.

"You are the other one-"

The boy appeared puzzled. NiGHTS remembered that humans didn't understand Nightmaren language.

As he drew closer, he was overwhelmed by that rush of emotions again, mostly fear, the same with the other dreamer. He stepped out of range, trying to convince himself that those weren't his feelings, but his thought alone wasn't enough to get the feelings out of the way. It finally vanished along with the boy.

Then he realized what was going on. It was a simple answer, just hidden under years of dust in his mind that was blown away by the whirlwind of emotion. _These missions, they just aren't right. Stealing dreams, bringing these harmful senses, trying to break into where we don't belong? They can count me out._

Another warm feeling, different from the gem's, swept through him. He noticed his hand was outlined with a golden glow. This strange light somehow put his mind at ease, telling him not to worry about Wizeman and that he was following the right path. As it faded, he decided to continue that path.

Not long after, he ran into Reala again. "You are--" he took a good look at NiGHTS, and shook his head and continued. "You are to report back immediately."

NiGHTS wondered about that confused stare, but only for a second. "Forget it" he snapped.

"You're coming back, and I suggest you cooperate. We have orders to stop you at all costs. Do you realize what kind of consequences you're facing? If you come quietly, maybe you'll make it through the day in one piece!"

NiGHTS didn't want a fight, but he knew reasoning with Reala was useless. He took a fighting stance.

Reala's face turned to an unexpected evil grin. "Your loss-"

-----

Word of the current events spread through Nightmare quickly. The first-levels, who had been told first, were talking quietly among themselves. Like Reala had thought before, it was impossible. Everyone in Nightmare wanted to be where NiGHTS was, and now he didn't. They all knew there was nothing else for them.

Rapid clicks of nails on stone gradually grew louder, and a large black cat with red stripes skidded into the room. His eyes sparked with an excited red flame. "I just saw them! It's like a firework show-- I've never seen so many paraloops at one time!"

"Nice timing, Clawz" one of them called.

"Hey, I can be late just once" Clawz sat down and folded his spike-like wings upward in their usual position. "Looks like Reala was right after all. I never would have seen this coming."

"I'm not surprised" Jackle muttered.

An arctic breeze blew through the room, followed by a dark, swirling fog. The Nightmaren moved aside to let the clouds through. With a burst of purple smoke, Wizeman appeared. They gathered around. "What's happening?"

"It's over" he replied.

His voice was calmer than it should have been. The Nightmaren exchanged uneasy glances.

The tenseness faded as NiGHTS and Reala stumbled into the room. Both were in terrible condition, their clothes torn and neither one able to walk straight. NiGHTS was aware that the others were giving him that odd stare Reala did before, but he could barely see them through his half-closed eyes.

Wizeman advanced towards them. Reala backed up, but NiGHTS stayed where he was. A feeling of dread weighted his eyes towards the ground, and even then he could still feel Wizeman's accusing stare. Like before, with the dreamers, he tried to fight it. Somewhere inside of him, there was a spark. Something that told him he wasn't going to let Wizeman place this on him and he would stand up for what he was thinking. No one was going to push him around.

But he still couldn't fight it. Not now, when he felt the weakest he had even been, even more than those times after training, and he knew there was no way he could take on all the others.

"Not only have you refused to follow my orders again, and failed to retrieve the courage Ideya, but what is this I hear about helping the dreamer escape?"

NiGHTS kept quiet and avoided the impatient purple eyes in front of him. Silence settled over the room. "I don't even know how and why you've regressed-"

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Regressed?, NiGHTS wondered.

"I don't see any reason why I shouldn't take whatever little life you have left and put it into something useful-- do you have anything to say in your defense?"

These words stung him like a hot iron, feeding to the spark. As they echoed in his mind, he could sense it growing stronger. His physical strength had stayed exactly the same. But his spirit, ignited by that spark, suddenly rose up from the depths of his once-frozen heart and brought everything back into perspective. No one was going to be threatened anymore.

He raised his head sharply. Wizeman was startled at the traces of anger in NiGHTS' eyes.

"Who do you think you are, anyway?"

Everyone in the room was taken aback by the question. No one _ever_ said things like that to Wizeman.

"You can't take over the real world. What right do you have to break in there? I'll admit, I thought you were crazy about the red Ideya thing, but not only have I found that it exists, I found that you need a serious reality check! They're the ones that are responsible for us being here in the first place!"

Now Wizeman was the angry one. "Do not forget _your_ place" he thundered. "I am responsible for your existence! Though now I believe I may have made a mistake, an erasible one. You have helped these humans, so you are considered a threat to this operation, and therefore we must be sure you don't interfere again. In light of your recent services, I will spare your life. I have something else just for you-"

A nearly invisible force field swallowed NiGHTS up and carried him through the ceiling. "He will remain in Spring Valley to serve as a reminder for the rest of you" Wizeman told them. "But the next one who follows NiGHTS' example will not be so lucky. Is that clear?"

The Nightmaren nodded quickly. "Continue the search, then."

Wizeman stopped Reala on his way out. "Are you interested in a new position?"


	2. The Sign

Chapter 2  
~The Sign~  
  
"Oh, c'mon, Ange- I don't see what the problem is. He obviouly likes   
you. Go ask him" Megan smiled at her friend. "I think if you want something,   
you should go for it before it's too late. What do you think, Claris?"  
  
Claris pushed her golden clasp farther back into her rose-colored hair   
and looked to the opposite side of the cafeteria. She didn't really pay   
attention to conversations like these, although she thought maybe if she   
did, she might not feel so left out all the time. "I don't know, Meg"   
she sighed. "I got other things to worry about than boyfriends. Like that   
history paper."  
  
Like she would ever meet one. She couldn't gather the nerve to talk to her   
own classmates and teachers. Just her close friends. Everyone else knew her   
as the quiet one, the one that hid in corners and curled up into balls. Claris   
had somehow convinced herself that no one else would speak to her.  
  
"Claris! That's due next hour!" Ange burst out.  
  
She laughed. "I meant I have to finish it. I only have to do the conclusion."  
"Hope you've got your psychology homework done too. You know, that thing about   
your ideal place?"  
  
"Oops. I guess I forgot that one" Claris leaned back in her chair. "But I don't   
know what would be my ideal place. I mean, I can see it, but it's one of those   
things I can't describe, you know?"  
  
"Like something you saw in a dream?" Ange suggested.  
  
Claris pulled a few papers out of her backpack. Meg glimpsed at them. "That's   
right-- Korban's classes have to write that three-page paper. Don't those teachers   
get bored reading the same thing over and over again?"  
  
"It is kind of cool that we're around for the 100th year of Twin Seeds."  
  
"Of course you can say that! You're actually going to be a part of it!"  
  
Claris blushed slightly. "I'm not in it yet- I have to go to the audition after   
school."  
  
"So back to the subject. You have to go ask him! I mean, this could be the guy  
you could spend the rest of your life with, right?"  
  
Ange scoffed and tossed her hair. "I don't see it going that far. But you never know-"  
  
Meg looked at Claris, as if to say, help me out here.  
  
But Claris only smiled softly and replied, "You can't just see a person and fall in  
love with them for life. You have to know the person first. I mean, there's probably  
a lot you don't know about the person you're looking at."  
  
"So you're saying, you don't believe in love at first sight."  
  
"If it's at sight, it's probably only a crush and it's going to go away soon."  
  
Ange laughed. "Just wait till it happens to you, you'll see what we mean-"  
  
Claris returned the laugh, a tiny bit more scornfully. "It won't happen to me-"  
  
-----------  
  
A strand of light gently touched NiGHTS' eyes, persuading them to open a little. At   
first that was all he could see, light and shadows. They swirled around him,   
spiraling higher and slower until he heard voices. Colors and shapes started to   
take form, and he could see strange blue lines reaching overhead.  
  
"Welcome to your new home--" a familiar voice rasped.  
  
--------------  
  
Claris arrived at home and headed up the stairs to her room. "Claris!" her mother   
called. "We have to go now, you know!"  
  
"Yeah, hold on!"  
  
She rummaged through the dresser drawers and scanned the top. "Where did I put that   
hairbrush-- oh, here."  
  
The brush was almost buried under music sheets, on a table near her newest poster   
on the wall. This one was simple compared to the others in her room, a blue   
background with a sillhouette of Twin Seeds Tower, the tallest building in the   
city, over a crescent moon. The remainder of the blue was filled up with the words   
"Twin Dreams" printed across it in white script-type letters. This one had kept   
catching her eye ever since it went up in that corner.  
  
Twin Dreams was the big show. The one that everyone was going to be at- and hopefully,   
the one Claris was going to be in.  
  
That name reminded her of that weird dream from the night before. Circus acrobats in   
purple were not something she expected to see. The guy made her laugh and scared at   
the same time. She wondered if he'd show up again tonight. There was something mystical   
about him that she felt, especially when she watched him fly. Even though he seemed   
panicked at the time, the manner of his flight was peaceful and light-hearted, as if   
he were one with the air.   
  
She hummed softly to herself as she took down the clasp. This was the only thing she   
could do for her appearance right now, she didn't have time to change out of that   
plain old school uniform. But apperance wasn't everything, at least she hoped not.   
She and her mother soon reached the streets of downtown Twin Seeds. The city, normally   
squeaky clean and not to crowded, was brightly decorated with balloons and streamers.   
The street was jammed with honking cars. This was unusually warm weather for late   
September, so they had all the windows open and could hear people on the street and   
people in cars yelling at one another. "I wonder why everyone's so edgy-" Claris'   
mother said to herself. "This could cause a lot of trouble. Better take the side   
streets-"  
  
The pages of Claris' notebook flipped as her mother made a sharp left off of Main   
Street. She glanced up, annoyed. This psychology homework was really starting to   
bug her. She could not think of anyplace that made her feel perfectly content.   
More sounds of arguing came through the window, and Claris looked for the source, but   
she could not find it in the crowds. "All these people are going to be at the show-"   
she sighed.  
  
"You have to get past the auditions first" her mother reminded her. "And you at least   
have to loosen up a bit if you're going to do that."  
  
'Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mom-'  
  
She knew her mother was right. Everyone told her she had the skills, but was it good   
enough to be on stage? She had trouble singing for her family. Her heart would beat   
way too fast and show up in her voice, sometimes she just locked up and didn't even   
look at anyone watching. Everyone who watched her always said the same thing, she   
needed to loosen up.   
  
The car stopped at a light, near another high school. A group of boys dressed in blue   
and green uniforms were playing basketball. These three were much better than the boys   
on her school's basketball teams, it was like they could read each other's minds as   
they worked down the court towards the hoop. Claris had been to the school basketball   
game earlier, with her friends. Claris was getting visibly nervous about the audition.   
"You're going to be great" Ange reassured her. "You don't have to worry about anything.   
Now if I went up there, the building would be empty in two seconds flat!"  
  
Claris laughed. Ange grinned. "Claris, my name may be Angel but I sure don't sing like   
one!"  
  
"Anyway" Meg continued. "I've been up on stage before. It's no big deal. You can't   
even see the people because of the spotlight."  
  
The light turned green and the car moved on. Claris glanced back at the basketball   
court, wishing she could be as happy as those boys looked.   
  
One of the boys watched the car drive away. He kept his eyes on the street, then glanced   
up to the sky. A perfect day, this had been. No homework, no crabby teachers, shortened   
basketball practice-  
  
But he didn't consider the short practice all good. He loved to play, even if someone   
was yelling at him that he needed to do better all the time. He knew the coach's   
motivation strategy, but many times he agreed. There was always something he could do   
better, whether it was jump higher, run faster-- anything just to keep playing. The   
game was more important than anything he could think of. If it weren't for school and   
other such things, he'd probably have a basketball attached to his hand by a rubber band.  
  
"Elliot! Heads up!"  
  
He whirled around, grabbed the ball, and as soon as he caught it, it went straight for   
the basket. It went in with a swish.  
  
"I think I've finally perfected that one" Elliot said, grinning.   
  
"You should learn how to slam dunk, though" one of the others suggested. "That gets the   
ball in every time, you know?"  
  
"Not every time. Besides, I'm too short! I'd have to be able to fly or something-" Elliot   
ran his fingers through his slicked-back, sapphire hair. "You can try if you want, Chris."  
"You're not too short. Spudd Webb won the slam dunk contest and he's like five- well, I   
don't know. He was the shortest player in basketball."  
  
"Hey, c'mon peoples! We have to keep the game going!" the other boy called.  
  
"Chill, Reid" Elliot reassured him. "It doesn't matter right now. We're still undefeated."  
He took the ball from his friend and shot it from half-court. Another swish. He turned   
back with his usual smile of confidence.   
  
"I hear the next team we're going up against is pretty good. And their youngest player's   
the same age as our oldest."  
  
"So what? Just another oppotunity to show the skills and maybe teach someone something.   
Guess maybe we should start practicing a little-"  
  
The others agreed. They continued the game.  
  
-----------------  
  
A few trees, a lake, and green grass stretched out before the blue and white marble   
floor. Mountains loomed behind them, enclosing the valley in their blue-violet shadow.   
All of this had been lost in the panic that had seized control of him before, a blur of   
grey as he made several unsuccessful last-minute attmepts to escape, despite the fact   
that he knew it was no good. This Ideya Palace, only a rumor and an empty meaning to him   
before, now was the only thing on his mind. There were no walls, but no escape. NiGHTS   
could not accept this, that this was the only thing he could see for the rest of his days,   
only a few feet to do anything. Deep inside of him, he wished that maybe Wizeman could   
have gone with the alternative and ended it all, but when he realized his thought were   
getting a little out of hand, he settled down a bit and acknowledged his new position.   
He stared with bitter eyes at the cold blue stone pillars, which served no purpose   
except to show his boundaries. The ceiling hovered on its own.  
  
He remembered the others laughing at his desperate efforts to get away. He remembered,   
that if he was on their side, he would have done the exact same thing, and shuddered   
at that thought. How could he have been so heartless? Why hadn't this come to him   
before? These questions were the thin line that seperated his calmness from complete   
insanity.   
  
That and the one thing he took with him. A silver, piccolo-like instrument called a   
kaetru, given to him by his former trainer. He never played it, since most other   
Nightmaren thought music was just plain stupid. But now he didn't care what they thought.   
He tried out a few notes. They were soothing, like the teacher had said, but they   
probably wouldn't last him all the time he was stuck in this prison.  
  
There was one way out. He would not be admitted to Nightmare again unless he gave up   
these "crazy ideas" of his and brought back all five types of Ideya. 'Yeah, sure. I'll   
go get them. I'll turn back into a mindless worker, surrounded by indifference and   
ignorance until I have to face someone who makes the same realization as me. How would   
I get the Ideya in the first place? Humans can't go into Nightopia, let alone the Ideya   
Palace, without Ideya. This dream is guarded well enough so that no one could get close.   
And second, who would want to come near a palace with a living nightmare in it,   
espcially these creatures with such heightened senses of fear?' He floated to one of   
the pillars and gazed at it. 'Who in their right mind-'  
  
Then NiGHTS caught a glimpse of his reflection in the shiny blue marble, and his   
expression turned to amazement. His appearance had changed drastically. His eyes still   
retained a cat-like look, but they were bright and glistening, and the hostile air that   
had so often clouded his face before was replaced with warmth and kindness. This one   
matched his current personality more, although he almost looked like a child now.   
'That's what he meant by regressed!'  
  
He heard a metallic clank as the kaetru dropped to the floor. After backing away from   
the pillar, he scooped it back up again. He could see his reflection in the little   
flute. His eyes sparkled with a sudden rhythm floating around him, and he brought the   
kaetru back up. His fingers moved slowly at first, but soon they moved with amazing   
quickness and timing, especially for someone who had never played the thing before.   
It was just the music, those silvery notes that lifted through the air, carrying his   
spirit with it, that made him want to play more. And a different smile came. Not a   
false one, not one that came just to tick off someone else, or to intimidate them,   
but one of peace and happiness- he knew he wasn't going to let this situation take   
control of him.   
  
"Hello?" a high, garbled voice called.  
  
NiGHTS stopped and looked all around.  
"Down here!"  
  
A Nightopian stood right next to the floor of the palace. NiGHTS landed and kneeled   
down by it. "I thought Nightopians didn't speak out language."  
  
"Most of us don't" the Nightopian replied, closing his eyes.  
  
"So why do you-"  
  
"Long story."  
  
"Well, I've got plenty of time. I'm not going anywhere" NiGHTS sprang back up and   
spun around with his arms out. "I'm probably going to be here for the next 10,000   
years."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Another long story."  
  
"I've got time too. I got bored so I started wandering, and I heard a flute. I came   
over to see. Turns out to be you." The Nightopian pointed to the kaetru. "Nightmaren   
don't usually hang out around here. Why don't you tell me your story first?"  
  
NiGHTS told the Nightopian everything that had occurred so far. He was surprised to   
see the little creature hanging on to his every word. He had thought the Nightopian   
would get bored and fly away. The one was differemt from the others. Now that he   
thought about it, there was some kind of strange energy in there, too.  
  
"Are they going to try for all the energy?" the mini-angel asked, concerned.   
  
"No, not yet. Wizeman just wants to expand his power to reality so they can grow. The   
only thing stopping him is those two red Ideya. I thought the red Ideya didn't exist.   
Turns out they do, and Wizeman can't find them-" NiGHTS laughed a little. "Only for   
now. I tried to help the dreamers escape, and this is where it got me."  
  
"See, that story wasn't very long. Maybe I can find these dreamers and bring them   
here, so you can put them in a safe place like you did before."  
  
"But you don't know what they look like. Ideya aren't visible all the time."  
  
"Maybe not to your kind. Nightopians can see them all the time."  
  
NiGHTS blinked in surprise. "You can?"  
  
"Yes. Nightmaren can't see them often because they can't read the humans' positive   
thoughts. That's how these dreams exist. We take their good ideas and show it to   
them."  
  
"So you can bring them here?"  
  
The Nightopian looked to the sky. "No problem. I ususally don't do favors for   
Nightmaren, but-"  
  
"I can understand why. By the way, what's your name?"  
  
"Name?"  
  
The Nightopian gave him a blank stare. NiGHTS quckly realized that Nightopians   
probably didn't go by name, but by those strange screeches they gave off every   
once in a while. "Well, since I can't speak Nightopian, how about I just call you   
Tope. OK?"  
  
"Oh yeah, the maren thing. Who are you?"  
  
"Call me NiGHTS."  
  
------------  
  
The sky above the city had faded to a quiet purple, with strands of yellow streaking   
across from the many lights from the buildings. Elliot often wondered what this place   
looked like from the sky at this time. He wouldn't know unless he worked in the Twin   
Seeds Tower, which always closed down just about now. The stars were unusually bright   
overhead, considering they lived in such a brightly-lit area.  
  
"Guys, it's getting late. We need to rest up for tomorrow. Doesn't matter how good we   
are, we aren't going nowhere on two hours of sleep."  
  
"Yes, 'mother'" Reid laughed.  
  
Elliot tossed the ball at him. Reid wasn't paying attention and caught it with his   
head.   
  
"See, now what? C'mon-"  
  
"What's wrong?" an unfamiliar voice called from the gate. "Giving up so soon?"  
  
Three boys stood by the fence. They were also in school uniform, red shirts and orange   
shorts. The team captain appeared to be the one standing in front, the one with blond   
hair and a proud smirk on his face. "These are the losers we're facing tomorrow" Reid   
informed everyone.   
  
"I say we play a practice game" the blond one suggested. "That way we can figure out   
how much we're going to beat you down tomorrow."  
  
Elliot gave a forced laugh. "Right. You guys. You have no idea what you're up against."  
"If you're so sure, show us what you got!"  
  
-------  
  
"They're not here yet" Tope explained. "They shouldn't be for at least a few hours."  
NiGHTS paced in the air, his mind working on overdrive. This was proving to be much   
more difficult than he thought it would be. Several scenes crossed through his mind,   
a problem with each one, and he didn't know a solution to all of them. "We have to   
make sure they don't arrive in a nightmare before they find us. How can we do that?"  
"Umm, well-- you could try projecting to the real world. Wizeman does that sometimes,   
only he keeps a low profile."  
  
"Wizeman only watches reality, he can't-"  
  
"Trust me, I know. He needs to plan a strategy. Humans here are nearly defenseless,   
but in their own world they have a better grip and quite an advantage."  
  
"It wouldn't really matter, because Wizeman would turn real too. Plus he would be a   
hundred times more powerful. We have to make sure he doesn't get there in the first   
place."  
  
"So stop wasting time!"  
  
NiGHTS looked at him, slightly annoyed. This one was different from the other   
Nightopians. He knew a lot-- maybe too much, and a little too angry. He turned a   
suspicious eye to Tope. "You're kinda snippy for a Nightopian."  
  
Tope stared at his shoes. "Well, truth be told, I don't like Nightmaren."  
  
NiGHTS didn't bother to ask.   
  
Suddenly, another surge rushed up on him. It wasn't emotion this time, it was more   
like a hit. Some invisible weapon had hit him square in the chest and almost knocked   
him over. Tope saw him flail his hands in an attempt to keep his balance. "What's   
wrong?"  
  
"I-I'm not sure-"  
  
------  
  
A hollow bang, the sound of the basketball against the concrete, was the only thing   
Elliot could hear. His eyes wide, his ears open, all taking in this sound and sight--   
the signs. His hopes, his dreams, his future-- crushed by two seconds. Two seconds,   
that if something had been done differently, it everything might have been saved--   
and it all had been in his hands.  
  
The blond-haired kind let go of the hoop and dropped to the ground, standing over   
Elliot. He seemed as tall as the surrounding buildings now. "Well, I have to admit,   
that was a workout. See you tomorrow!"  
  
The last three words sounded like a death sentence. Maybe not for him, but for his   
future. He couldn't play now. He had let the guy get by.  
  
Chris almost smashed his fist into the wall, but decided it was better not to at about   
three inches away. Reid leaned up against the building and rested his head. "So that's   
it then-- hey, Elliot! Where you going?"  
  
Elliot hadn't heard him. He trudged past the Twin Seeds Tower, carried by a heavy fog   
that seemed to be leading him to a long, dark future of crushed dreams. All that   
practice, dedication, skills, they were all for nothing. The team's winning streak   
was broken, even though it wasn't officially recorded.  
  
Inside the tower, Claris awaited her turn to go up onstage. She was trying to   
remember what her friends had told her, it was nothing really big. She tried   
calming herself by thinking there were only three people out in the audience. But   
it really was a big deal. The three total strangers, she had never seen before and   
wouldn't know what to say or do around them, were about to decide her future. The   
restless feelings stirred around inside her, taking he feet with them, making her   
pace around.   
  
She heard her name called, and walked out to the microphone.  
  
----  
  
NiGHTS' eyes opened slowly, a curtain rising to reveal sights that totally astounded   
him. He had heard the real world was different, but he had never thought it like this.  
Dazzling light spread out before him on a vast plane of blue and black shadows, under   
a twinkling midnight sky. The air around him was crisp and cool, distant sounds   
floating quietly through it, carrying the lights' beams up towards the sky. The endless   
sky above, sparkling with billions of stars and infinite potential. He had never felt   
this awake, even though he knew he wasn't really there. He felt like soaring up higher,   
past those thin clouds and shooting around through this shimmering night.   
But his mind was focused, as always. And this new scene was giving him more inspiration.   
If Wizeman did get through, this place would be changed forever, and not for the better.   
He had to find those dreamers. They probably wouldn't be able to see him, but he could   
at least tell when they were coming. He perched on the top of the tallest building   
(although there was not much room to stand, considering the top was a spire) so he   
could get a better view.   
  
Just then he felt something rippling through the air towards him, another energy wave.   
This time he tried to move, but he found himself frozen in place. When it connected,   
he almost fell off the spire. It had come from somewhere below him.   
  
But this one lasted for more than a few seconds. It left him with a long trail of   
emptiness and despair, a slash in his spirit that felt like he would never be able   
to accomplish his mission.   
  
Then, as he looked down at the gem, he noticed for the first time ever, it actually   
was dull. The mysterious, unseen power it once held no longer stood out from   
everything else.   
  
'It's a sign- something's not right here-'  
  
As he realigned his mind again, he took a second look around, and a new part of this  
city was open to him. He felt an overwhelming sense of anger, hopelessness- he realized  
he was now viewing the minds of the people whose dreams had been stolen away, by what  
he could only assume were Nightmaren.   
  
A single, spark-like tear fell from the sky-  
  
--  
  
"Claris. All you had to do was stand up there and sing the song. Like you did for us.   
Why did you run off like that?" her mother gripped the steering wheel with both hands.   
She only did that when she was really irritated. "Your father will be very happy   
to hear this-"  
  
Claris turned towards the window and didn't say a word. She felt like jumping out   
of the car and running home instead of listening to her mother ramble on. This was   
supposed to be encouragement?  
  
But she was right. All it was, was singing, something she did every day. Why did   
this always happen? Why did she run right off that stage, away from the thing she   
had always wanted to do? She gritted her teeth in frustration, squeezing tears from   
her eyes.   
  
"Luckily they haven't found anyone yet, so they're giving you another chance. Tomorrow   
you can go back and try again."  
  
"No" Claris choked.  
  
Her mother stopped the car. "What?!"  
  
"I-I can't go back-I can't deal with this!"  
  
"Oh Claris, don't get that attitude again. You're just tired that's all-"  
  
"MOM! You don't get it! I'm not going back! You were right the first time you said I   
wasn't made for the stage. There, I said it! You happy?! YOU WERE RIGHT!"  
  
With the sudden rush she had gotten from this outburst, she made her thoughts reality   
and flung open the car door. "I'm walking home!"  
  
Later that evening, she returned and avoided everyone in her house. She trudged up   
the stairs to her room, and flung herself onto the bed. She stared at the ceiling   
through unrestrained tears, thinking it was all hopeless, yet she was still debating   
whether she should try again or not. It was probably the biggest chance she was ever   
going to get.  
  
She decided to sleep on it. That always did clear up her mind. And re-audition or not,   
it was still a big day tomorrow. She rolled to her side and watched out the window.  
Right in her view was the tower. She gave it an almost indistinguishable glare, she   
didn't want to look at it right then. But for some reason, she couldn't look away.   
It looked exactly like it did on the poster, a golden crescent moon splitting the night   
sky into shadows and light, the tower serving as a dividing line- but there was   
something different. Way on the top of the tower-  
  
"There's something on top of the spire" she observed silently. "But that's way too big   
to be a bird- what is it?"  
  
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Elliot had decided to collect his thoughts a bit  
before returning home. He knew this devastation wouldn't go away by the time he got   
there, but it might cool him off a bit.  
  
The streets were unusually deserted tonight. It wasn't that late, but even if it was  
Elliot could still walk around by himself, just to be alone. The streets of Twin Seeds  
were very safe.   
  
But something seemed different tonight. An aura, a shadow in the air that for a second,  
made him forget the game and a little bit more aware of his surroundings. This aura   
spread through like fog, getting thicker by the minute, and he felt a chill. The air  
was much colder than it should have been. He decided to get out of that area before the  
objects in his imagination became real.  
  
Fortunately, he was not too far from the park. This was an enchanting little area with a   
nice view of the city. The concrete fences seemed to sparkle in the dim, old-fashioned  
streetlights, the reflections almost matching the small but mesmerizing fountain in the   
center square. A lot of park benches, some statues, and a lot of well-placed trees gave   
the whole place a charming and inviting sense.  
  
But this place was deserted as well. He didn't feel quite as alarmed as he did in the   
streets, but it still struck him as odd. He gazed up as the skyline, as if he expected   
see something.  
  
Nothing- except that shape on the tower.  
  
Elliot shook his head wildly and looked again. But on second inspection, there was nothing  
there.  
  
-----  
  
Tope returned to the Ideya Palace just as NiGHTS was opening his eyes. "Did it work?"  
  
"I knew where they were, but I couldn't see them. I know the girl will be here shortly,   
though. You have to be sure she doesn't come in through a nightmare."  
  



	3. The Ideal

  
Chapter 3  
~The Ideal~  
  
Her eyes lifted to the perfect blue sky, her eyes  
reflecting the shifting sunlight around her, moving  
in time with the early-morning fog of the park, and   
her voice following with another rhythm in her head.   
The tender notes carried through the air like some   
kind of enchanting mist, clear as the mirror-like   
pond nearby. She didn't care if anyone heard right   
now, though. That morning, she had felt a brewing   
confidence within her, that grew and energized until   
it exploded into this cheerful melody.   
  
"It's so nice out today" Claris sighed dreamily.   
"This time, I'm going back- and I'm not running,   
that's for sure-"  
  
The park was the perfect place to practice her   
music. Not many people came through on most days, and   
she often wondered why. Maybe it was too far out of   
the way.  
  
She closed her eyes and continued her carefree   
concert.  
  
Then, an abrupt silence. A cold shadow wrapped   
around her, and as she opened her eyes, she discovered   
the sunlight was gone. She was standing alone, in a   
barren silence and darkness. Startled, she glanced   
around a few times.  
  
Then, just as her eyes were adjusting, a blinding light   
tore through her vision. She quickly shielded her eyes   
with her hands. Shortly after, the light dimmed just   
enough so she could look out beyond the glare.  
  
A microphone. A steel microphone sat in front of her. It   
seemed to be staring at her, boring into her with   
invisible metal eyes. And behind it, those three directors.   
The shadowy figures that before, she could just envision   
them laughing at her. She started to back away-  
  
But then, she remembered the confidence she had just moments   
earlier. She wasn't going to let it escape this time. She   
closed her eyes and clenched her fists, as if to block off   
all exits for it. She waited patiently for the music to   
start.  
  
Before she could even start, she heard a laugh and cringed.   
"No way-" she whispered.   
  
'They can't be laughing at me before I even started- but   
I'm not running this time-'  
  
She got up enough courage to look the laughing man right in   
the eye. He stared back at her, an eerie smirk on his face   
that just seemed to say to her "Go on and try it. Just try   
to sing. You can't, can you?"  
  
Suddenly, a red glimmer appeared in his eyes. Claris knew   
immediately that something wasn't right, people's eyes   
didn't glow like that. And as she soon found out, the three   
figures were not human at all. In an instant, they had   
transformed into dark blue ghost-like creatures, their   
scorching red eyes burning into her mind with a fire she   
would never forget.  
  
'Now THIS is a good reason to run!'  
  
She did just that.  
  
Her only path to escape was through a corridor. She knew   
it hadn't been there before, she liked the looks of it   
about as much as the ghosts, but as far as she could see   
there was no other exit. Her shoes clacked loudly against   
the cobblestone floor, the dizzying array of lights on   
the walls rushing past her in floods of twisting color.   
She knew she had to go faster- the ghosts were right behind,   
she didn't need to look to tell. She could feel their eyes   
on her like a sniper laser. The world around her blurred   
and shifted, confusing her even more-she almost lost her   
footing.  
  
NiGHTS lifted his head sharply, for he had heard Claris   
scream. "The Nightmaren- Tope!"  
  
The little angel was startled. He hadn't heard. "What?!"  
  
"We messed up- she's in a nightmare! Open a path NOW!"  
  
The ghosts' howling laughter rang down the hall as Claris   
finally began to slow. She knew she couldn't stop, she   
had to run farther, even without another path. She didn't   
know what those things wanted with her. But as always, her   
mind started to cave in with the feeling that she would   
never find a way. She glanced around, desperately searching   
for the slightest chance she might have.  
  
And then, just as they were about to close in, a green light   
pieced through the dimness of the hall. The ghosts went   
shrieking down in the opposite direction as if the light   
would burn them up if they touched it. Claris felt the   
opposite. She felt herself being drawn towards the light as   
it grew larger, and a comforting sense- everything would be   
all right now. She closed her eyes and let the rays take her   
in, up into the sky.  
  
It was gone as suddenly as it appeared. Claris felt sunlight   
on her face, and cautiously opened her eyes, expecting to   
see the park again.  
  
It may have been a park. But it was far beyond anything Claris   
had ever seen- or even imagined. The brilliant color around   
her alone was enough to leave her wide-eyed. A tender breeze   
ruffled the grass all the way down the hill, where she could   
see a glittering path running right across the horizon-a   
lake, or possibly an ocean. Sweet scents came to her from the   
flowers littered all around the grass. She stared up into the   
sky, crystal clouds flowing by and casting their shadows over   
the mountains. These tiny but breathtaking peaks, topped with   
glistening snow that seemed out of place. This whole world   
seemed so big to Claris- and yet, it seemed closed in.   
  
Something strange caught her eye. At first glance, she thought   
it was a balloon sitting in the middle of nowhere. But upon   
closer inspection, she discovered it's true form. A wooden   
toy windmill- floating in the air! Nothing held it up or tied   
it down, it sat there in its simple, patient little form,   
it's blades whirling away and the rest bobbing up and down   
slightly, as if it were riding the wind.  
  
'Where in the world am I?!'  
  
The question screamed through her head, though without   
expectation of an answer. She decided to take a walk, see if   
she could figure it out.  
  
Then she remembered. This was the place she had seen the   
lizard-eyed acrobat the night before. She wondered if she would   
see the guy again. Something purple did appear in her sights,   
but it was a bit smaller.  
  
A jarring blow sent her sprawling to the ground. She barely had   
time to move when another one struck, and she felt herself being   
yanked into the air. In the confusion she realized whoever it was   
attacking her was pulling something out of her from inside-   
something that should stay there. But there was no pain, only a   
shredding feeling. She tried to resist, but she didn't know what   
they were taking in the first place, and didn't know what to hold   
onto.  
  
With a flurry of purple feathers, the attackers were gone, and   
Claris fell to the ground like a stone.  
  
The next thing she knew, she was staring into the eyes of a tiny   
angel.  
  
"Ohh, how cute!" she squealed, completely forgetting about what   
just happened.  
  
"Spare me the cute routine" it snapped. "I'm here to protect   
you."  
  
Tope explained everything to her as he led her to the lower part   
of the valleys. The Nightmaren, the Ideya, and Wizeman. Neither   
of them noticed a pair of beady eyes watching them from the trees,   
or the purple chicken-owl they were attached to. Minutes later, it   
had returned to the main nightmare.  
  
Reala was the only one there when Hollow arrived. It looked   
extremely panicked.   
  
"What's going on? You weren't called."  
  
"We've got problems. A dreamer has been alerted to the   
situation here."  
  
"What? Is there a big scary human out there that likes chicken   
for dinner? Big deal" Reala yawned. "What are they gonna do?   
Just take the Ideya and they won't bother you again."  
  
"We already did" the Hollow told him. "All four of them. But   
she's still there."  
  
Reala's eyes widened. "Umm- I'll take it from here. Where did   
you see her?"  
  
"Reala- don't bother."  
  
Wizeman emerged from the shadows. "I have a different way. My   
Alarm Eggs have already traced her energy pattern and are on   
their way."  
  
Claris and Tope were nearing the Ideya Palace. "I feel like   
there's something I should do to help-" Claris muttered. "But what   
can I do?"  
  
"Stay away from the Nightmaren. That's all."  
  
"I can live with that."  
  
He stopped in his tracks and glanced around. His focus was on a   
hill nearby. "What is it?"  
  
"Quiet" he demanded.  
  
His ears twitched uneasily as he scanned the mountains nearby. After   
a short while Claris did hear something- a faint ringing. She   
didn't have a clue what it was, but by the way Tope's eyes   
frantically searched the horizon, she could tell it probably   
wasn't good.  
  
"Run" he told her at last. "NOW!"  
  
She didn't argue.   
  
NiGHTS caught sight of her as she raced up the hill, and   
waved. She went in his direction. "So you're going to help   
me?" she asked.  
  
He didn't respond, he hadn't understood what she said. She   
remembered the last time they met, he had been talking in a   
language that didn't sound like anything she had heard before.   
He only held out his hand to her.  
  
"This is no time for introductions" she told him.  
  
"You must hurry- I will send you from this place" he replied.  
  
She still didn't know what he said, but after hearing that   
little angel describe everything that was going on, she wasn't   
sure if she should trust him. She didn't know anyone at all   
here. What if they turned out to be like those ghosts? Then   
where would she go?  
  
Claris backed up, then turned to run. NiGHTS tried to follow,   
but was cast back under the ceiling with a force that almost   
knocked him down.  
  
"~Ranla~" came a pleading cry.  
  
She glanced back, then stopped. NiGHTS hovered with his   
hands clasped over his head. Then he stared at her with   
huge, worried eyes. "~Tila lsu kyr~"  
  
She could see it in those eyes, the concern was genuine.   
She could practically hear them asking her to come back.   
So instead of running away like she had done before,   
Claris approached the Palace, with small, tentative steps.   
NiGHTS unfolded his hands and held one towards her again.   
She wasn't sure what to do, but she knew she had to act   
fast because Tope told her to run from something- at last,   
she got the clue, and took the hand.  
  
But as soon as she came in contact with him, NiGHTS knew   
instantly something wasn't right. A sudden rush of energy   
blew through him, accompanied by a bright flash. The   
force was so intense that it spun him around a few times   
in the air.   
  
The next thing Claris knew, she was standing on the ground,   
alone. Still in the dream.  
  
However, NiGHTS didn't see her, and neither did Tope, who   
had just arrived. "What just happened?"  
  
Claris realized that had come from her mouth. That weird   
language- she didn't know a word, and yet she had just   
said it out loud. But her voice had changed. And there was   
Tope, right in front of her, talking the same way.  
  
"She left. You got her away."  
  
"No- no, something's not right. I can't figure it out, but   
I did something wrong. Where is she?"  
  
"Umm, excuse me-" Claris started.  
  
She trailed off. Her voice still sounded off- a bit garbled   
and slightly lower-pitched. She noticed Tope staring up at   
her, confused.  
  
Now NiGHTS was the startled one. "Huh?"  
  
"Wait a minute-" Tope whispered, narrowing his eyes.   
  
He stared right in NiGHTS' face. NiGHTS was annoyed with   
this close-up, but his mind was on other things. "Umm- this   
might sound a little strange, but- she's inside of you."  
  
"What do you mean 'inside'?!"  
  
"What do you think I mean?"  
  
"She-she can hear us right now?"  
  
"Not only that-" Tope flew up and tapped his head. "She   
can hear your thoughts and control your actions. She's   
basically become you. Just relax for a second."  
  
Claris felt hopelessly lost in this jumble of foreign   
words, but couldn't think of anything to do, until finally   
she heard something she recognized. "What's your name   
again?"  
  
"My name's Claris" she answered slowly.  
  
She immediately regretted telling them her real name, but   
it wasn't like it was going to matter in a strange world-   
she moved right along. "Why does my voice sound like this?"  
  
"Take a look at yourself. See anything out of place?"  
  
She held one hand in front of her face, only to find it   
wasn't her own. In fact, it seemed to missing a wrist.  
  
NiGHTS felt that incredibly strong fear overtaking him   
again. It was even worse now, and he still couldn't   
interpret these frantic thoughts coming from this dreamer.   
  
'If you could only hear what I say- doesn't that Ideya do   
anything for you, if it's so powerful? If it really is, it   
sure isn't showing it-'  
  
A glint of red light showed in his gem, tiny, but it caught   
everyone's eyes that could see it. NiGHTS felt a tiny pinch   
of energy, so slight he barely paid attention to it. The   
voice that spoke up in his mind completely dragged the attention   
away from the energy. {Hey! Say that again!}  
  
{I can hear you!}  
  
{Yeah, me too! Maybe now you guys can tell me what's going   
on!}  
  
"Umm, excuse me" Tope knocked on NiGHTS' head again. "This   
is not a time for stare at the sky-"  
  
"Stop doing that" NiGHTS pushed Tope away.  
  
"Hey, Claris, don't push me-"  
  
"That was ME!"  
  
"Huh? But you just talked in the real world language-" Tope   
flew impatiently in circles. "Your minds must be merging   
as well. Hey- I wonder-"  
  
NiGHTS cut him off. "Look, this is all good fun and games,   
but how are we supposed to get out of this?"  
  
Just then, he noticed something strange. Ever since he had   
been locked in the Palace, he had felt some kind of   
tension around him, high pressure from the magical gravity   
lock. It was gone. He floated forward, expecting to feel that   
unseen force trying to hold him in place, but nothing came   
except a fresh wind, leading him along until he felt warm   
sunlight on his face, and bristles of grass under his feet.   
  
He was speechless. Minutes ago, it had been an accepted fact   
to him that he would never be outside those barriers again,   
stuck in the world of stone and shadows for all eternity. Now   
that this door was opened- new feelings, ideas, all rushed   
into his mind, each one carrying with it a new sense of   
excitement and energy, flooding through him and carrying   
him off into the air.  
  
Claris felt this energy building, and couldn't help but be   
caught up in it, even though she had no idea what it was   
about. She hadn't even noticed they were off the ground   
until they were far off over the hill, soaring far above   
the little trees down in the valleys. Claris could feel   
her stomach falling to her feet, but at the same time she   
felt the joy in NiGHTS' heart and it reached inside of her.   
They reached the height of the mountains and kept going   
until finally, he stopped and looked down, and let the rest   
of the senses of the valley catch up to him.  
  
Claris surveyed the dream with huge sparkling eyes- and she   
thought the view from on the ground was awesome. She hadn't   
felt this serene in such a long time, not even at her own   
house, or with her friends at school-   
  
'This is it' she realized when school crossed her mind.   
'This is the ideal place that stupid homework's asking for-'  
  
A tiny screeching voice brought them back to reality. Well   
as close as they could get. "HEY PEOPLES! NiGHTS, Claris-   
you can get the Ideya back now!"  
  
"Huh?" The two were still a bit out of focus.  
  
"This is a perfect opportunity for you guys! You can fight   
back against Wizeman and the Nightmaren, and then we won't   
have to go through this every night because this place   
would be safe! Think about it-"  
  
NiGHTS did just that. On one hand, now that he was out, he   
didn't want to get trapped again. After all, he couldn't   
handle all the Nightmaren before- but his spirit was   
turning the other way. He felt he owed it to those thousands   
of people who's lives were going in all the wrong   
directions because of him-  
  
Claris was nervous about it. She thought hard about it as   
well, and she realized that she didn't want to sit around   
while these guys had to do all this work to protect her.   
She wanted to help. And once again, it occurred to her   
that any damage she took in her dreams wouldn't affect her   
in reality.   
  
"Sounds like we're in agreement" NiGHTS concluded. "Let's   
go!"  
  
"First thing's first. We have to get the Ideya back for   
you to get through to the nightmares in the first place."  
  
{You know where they take the Ideya, right?}  
  
{Umm-}  
  
An image floated out of his memory in into her vision. A   
fuzzy image, almost faded into black and white- something   
he hadn't seen in a while. It seemed to be some sort of   
machine. A crystal ball set on a large, striped claw.  
  
{I'm not sure where it could be. I don't know where it's   
been since I last saw it.}  
  
{What do you mean, 'where it's been?'}  
  
He was surprised at the question. {Ideya Capture are   
alive.}  
  
{Whatever-}   
  
She let herself get caught up in the scenery again, but   
kept an eye out for that Ideya Capture thingy. She saw   
more things in the dream this way. What was the most   
amazing to her was that she knew none of this was real,   
but it was so clear, she could make out every blade of   
grass, every leaf on the trees below, every breeze and   
sunbeam dancing in the sky with them. "That's nice   
music" she commented.  
  
"It's the rhythm of Nightopia" Tope explained. "Each   
dreamer of your world has their own unique rhythm, and   
it plays out in dreams. They cross at the six main   
dreams of Nightopia and make a bigger one."  
  
"I don't hear anything" NiGHTS said, frowning.  
  
"Nightmaren-" Tope chuckled. "Your ears are closed.   
You're not listening."  
  
NiGHTS closed his eyes halfway. He did this when he   
heard something he didn't like. "With the ears you have,   
you must hear straight into reality. Seeing as how you   
can tell our voices apart now."  
  
Tope scowled at him. "Just listen, all right?"  
  
The three remained silent. NiGHTS sighed, they were   
wasting their time. They didn't need to-  
  
Then he heard something. A soft sound, coming from   
somewhere he couldn't see, and he was soon able to   
distinguish a beat. It was lively and upbeat, and many   
of the creatures in the valley moved in time to it. Even   
he was breathing in the same rhythm.  
  
"There you have it" Tope turned away. "Now back to   
business. I just thought of something. When you find the   
Capture, how are you going to get the Ideya away from it?"  
  
"Leave that to me. You don't spend your whole life in   
nightmares without learning at least a little magic. But   
I can't do it alone. I think I know of something that can   
break the Capture's hold."  
  
NiGHTS turned his head towards a cluster of mountains.   
Tope's wings fluttered anxiously as he figure out what he   
was indicating. "You mean the ring trap, don't you?"  
  
{Ring TRAP?} Claris repeated. {Shouldn't that say something   
right there about not going-?}  
  
"It can be dangerous, but my power alone isn't strong   
enough. We don't have much choice."  
  
They flew straight up the sides of the mountain cluster,   
where the wind gathered at the bottom and carried them to   
the top in a wave of leaves and fog. The gusts brought them   
over the peaks and set them gently in the air just over a   
small, hidden area. There hovered a giant golden ring,   
sending off blinding flashes of light with its slow spin.   
Claris drew in a deep breath. {Wow- that's pretty-}   
  
{So are those light bands-}  
  
His eyes were turned to a rainbow. Claris giggled a bit,   
catching Tope's suspicion temporarily, but he recognized   
Claris' tone.  
  
"We're going in. You coming, Tope?"  
  
"Forget it! Nightopian's life spans are short enough   
already!"  
  
{What a cranky little guy} Claris remarked.  
  
{I've dealt with worse attitudes. But there is   
something different about him. I haven't seen a   
Nightopian act like this before}  
  
He hovered at an angle where they could see right   
through the ring. There wasn't anything there except   
the other side of the mountain cluster. She quickly   
pointed this out to NiGHTS, but he didn't seem to   
notice. He zipped into the ring, leaving Tope to watch   
from his perch on a flat rock.   
  
Darkness greeted them on the other side of the ring.   
It was another one of those hallways, the ones that   
the ghosts had chased Claris down before. Claris felt   
somewhat more secure now, but was still tense enough   
for NiGHTS to start feeling a bit nervous himself. {It's   
all right} he told her, shooting down the corridor. {I   
think I know where we are-}  
  
He had no clue where they were, and Claris knew it.  
  
A light showed a little ways ahead, but when they arrived   
at where it should have been, they only found a wall. NiGHTS   
grumbled in frustration. {Great. It's a maze. We could be   
here for a while-}  
  
{Wait-} Claris saw something odd about the wall. The   
end itself was composed of navy blue bricks, but up at   
the top it looked like the mortar had been messed with   
a bit. {You know anything about construction?}  
  
NiGHTS glanced up. He saw the change as well, but headed   
straight for the wall. {Huh? What are you doing?!} Claris   
yelled in his head. She tried to pull back.  
  
{Will you relax already? There's nothing there.}  
  
{Helloooooo?! There is a WALL!}  
  
{No. Those bricks you saw were different. It's a   
projection, and that's the source.}  
  
He took a step forward- right through the wall.  
  
{Take it easy, now. I know what I'm doing. What we're   
looking for here is called a sub-crystal. The sub-crystal   
isn't too friendly to the Ideya Capture, which should   
distract it enough for me to free the Ideya.}  
  
Along with his explanation came a picture- a blue sphere.   
It didn't seem like much to Claris.  
  
The hallway they just entered was a mirror image of the   
one they left. Claris felt more frustration from NiGHTS,   
and wondered if she could help-  
  
It occurred to her that the sphere was the same color as   
the wall. NiGHTS caught this thought, and turned back to   
the bricks. {That's right-}  
  
{You think it could be in there?}   
  
{Maybe-}  
  
He floated up to the top of the wall, where he had said   
the projection was coming from, and put his hand through.   
But it didn't go all the way. His fingers ran up against   
cold, smooth stone with a small squeak. He pushed harder,   
but it didn't take much. With a loud clunk, the wall   
disappeared, and a sphere rolled down the hallway. NiGHTS   
rushed over and caught it. {Good thinking-} he beamed.   
{This is our key, the sub-crystal}  
  
{^_^ Thanx} Claris replied.  
  
The crystal was much more impressive than what   
NiGHTS had shown her- judging by his current   
thoughts, she figured this must have been the   
first time he'd seen the real thing. It was an   
amazingly deep blue, with sparkling lines crossing   
it- almost as if they were holding a frozen piece   
of an ocean. She could feel it warming slightly   
in their hands.  
  
The light returned, the same one that had drawn   
them here in the first place. Above them, the   
two could see several hundred golden rings, just   
like the one they came in through, in a curving   
pattern. The light had come from somewhere far   
above, at the end of the rings.   
  
{And that's our path out of here. This tunnel should   
bring us back to Nightopia.}  
  
They started through, but as soon as they did, the   
ring behind them shrunk and disappeared with a harp-like   
pop. A sudden panic spiked in NiGHTS' mind, and he   
zoomed off throught the rings, so fast that it took   
Claris a while to realize they left.  
  
{WHOA! Hey, what's happening?!}  
  
{I know where we are now- it's called Linx. Not a   
nightmare, not a dream- but definetely someplace we   
don't want to be. We have to get out before this   
tunnel closes on us!}  
  
{What happens then?}  
  
NiGHTS wasn't focused on what would happen- he   
concentrated on what he could do about it now,   
as his Nightmaren training had always told him   
before. The tunnel twisted around a seemingly   
endless field of darkness, split only by the strands   
of light raining down from the top of the area.   
Through the wind of the flight, the two could   
feel the little bursts of air as the rings closed   
inches away from their feet.   
  
{How long is this tunnel?!}  
  
{That's the end-}  
  
The tunnel finally turned up towards the light, where   
they could see the final rings twisting around in   
the air. But as they rapidly approached, Claris could   
see a difference in the last few rings. They were   
metallic silver, green, and blue- and covered with   
sharp foot-long thorns.   
  
But even though it was scaring the living daylights   
out of her, the energy from that fear was helping them,   
making them work harder to escape, especially since   
NiGHTS' leveled thoughts helped balance them out.  
  
Within seconds, they had burst out of the ground, back   
up into the clear blue sky.  
  
Not clear blue sky. It was changing, melting into a   
dark shadow, all except for the sun. The valley under   
it was falling under the shadow as well, plants and eerie   
neon lights springing up from the ground. Nightopians   
fluttered by them, most of them screaming and pushing   
everything out of the way that they could.   
  
Through the rising chaos, NiGHTS could make out a faint   
sound. A rumbling, but high-pitched squeal. "It's a   
second-level Nightmaren" he realized out loud, retreating   
from the changing parts.  
  
{But why are we running away? I thought you could beat   
the other Nightmaren!}  
  
{Second-level Nightmaren aren't as smart, but they have the   
ability to change worlds- which is a big advantage over me.   
I can't go into nightmares unless I have all five Ideya,   
and a nightmare is happening here, now- if it changes   
totally, they'll have the dream and there will be no way   
I can get it back}  
  
'Get it back?' NiGHTS repeated his own words. 'What am I   
talking about? I'm just trying to free Ideya here!'  
  
His thoughts were interrupted when the whole area started   
shaking. He froze in the air, ready to fly, his wary eyes   
scanning for the source.   
  
A loud cracking noise came from the ground in front of   
them. The crack widened, then exploded in a blast of   
loose dirt and grass. From this emerged a large   
creature, they were too close to see it clearly, but   
NiGHTS already knew what it was.  
  
{I thought so- it's Gillwing. A dragon fish. We might be   
able to catch it with a drill-dash-}  
  
{A what?}  
  
He sped up in the air, and Claris felt pressure   
building in their feet, crushing them together, but it   
didn't hurt at all. The ends of NiGHTS' hat were slicking   
back as they gained speed, and the pressure started to   
move them around in place. In a spiral, faster and   
faster, until all Claris could see was a blur and the air   
around them whined as it was tossed around them. They   
rocketed up into the sky in an explosion of sparks.  
  
{NIGHTS, WHAT'S GOING ON?!}  
  
He didn't reply- his energy was focused. That is, until   
they smashed into something hard and bounced back a few   
good feet.   
  
NiGHTS wasn't dizzy at all, and it hadn't seemed to   
affect Claris either. But what she saw in front of them   
was enough to scare a scream out of her.   
  
{You- you took it's head off! EWWWW!}  
  
{Sorry to say, that's not the end-}  
  
When she looked again, a new head had grown in place.   
Blue dragon wings stretched out from behind it's angry   
red eyes, over a large yellow face with rows of gleaming   
teeth the size of bananas. A wildly-colored tail flowed   
out from the back of the head- nothing in between. It   
reminded her of all those cartoon half-eaten fish,   
where the middle had been taken out with nothing but   
bones. He let out an ear-shattering roar- strangely   
high-pitched, but intimidating nontheless- and flew   
into the nightmare and led it along.   
  
{What now? You know magic, can't you throw a laser   
beam or something?}  
  
NiGHTS glanced down at his hands. "I might not need   
magic."  
  
He raced up as close as he could to the transforming   
parts, and drew a circle in the air parallel to it,   
following a spark trail they had left behind. He   
stayed right behind it, until Gillwing caught up, and   
he touched the end with his fingertips.  
  
A force rippled through the air from the center of   
the circle, and an almost invisible explosion tore   
past them with a flurry of bubble-like sparks. A   
rushing sound accompanied it, followed by a mix of   
a roar and a scream, and the two could see Gillwing   
falling back towards the ground, it's wings trailing   
lifelessly behind it, it's tail missing. As it   
approached the ground, it shrunk, and faded into a   
large golden spark.  
  
NiGHTS drifted down towards the spark, as its   
light started to spread to the world around them.   
The brilliant blue shone in the sky again, as the   
plants and lights slipped back into the ground. It   
grew brighter by the second, and they realized it   
was pushing them off somewhere, enveloping them in   
golden rays. Claris felt like someone had dropped a   
desk on her shoulders, and she realized that she   
had been separated from NiGHTS, yet she was still   
flying. Something was propelling them upwards, and   
finally, the light subsided.   
  
  
  



	4. The Possibility

NiGHTS Into Dreams  
Chapter 4  
~The Possibility~  
  
*Note* From here on, the Nightmares follow a different order than in the game- actually the one presented in Prima's Strategy guide.  
  
Sorry this chapter took so long! ^_^() I had been working on it, but with school and exams and work and writer's block, it's been difficult- this chapter may have a little less quality to it. But by the looks of it, a little less shouldn't matter a whole lot. Enjoy! ^_^  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
The tiny, fuschia-feathered Nightmaren fluttered back into the nightmares again, each flap filled with more and more reluctance, but also more speed. Hollow knew, always had known it wouldn't last long in this hazardous wasteland. It wasn't as if it didn't care, it wanted to teleport away every Reala reminded it how easily third-levels could be replaced. But a messenger it was, and it wasn't capable of anything else.   
  
Reala was in the main nightmare, a most unwelcome sight for the bird. He had been in conversation with Jackle and Clawz, and judging from his 90-degree position on the wall, it hadn't been a pleasant one. Clawz must have chickened out of it, he was curled in a ball in the corner and snoring loudly- even more chilling. But that would be a shadow compared to what Hollow had to face-  
  
"Is Wizeman-?" Hollow asked timidly.  
  
"Forbidden nightmare" Jackle replied, his voice overflowing with annoyance.  
  
"What's so important that you have to go right to Wizeman?"   
  
"Um-" Hollow gulped. It quickly contemplated whether to tell Reala or not, but it would never questioning the authority of a higher power. "NiGHTS is loose."  
  
"What?!" Reala and Jackle exclaimed in unison, startling Clawz awake.  
  
"That human- she got him out."  
  
"How is that possible? The Palace would have filtered his energy and kept him in-" Reala reasoned.  
  
"I'm not sure, but I think, somehow, he and the girl merged together, and the Palace took his energy as human instead of Nightmaren."  
  
Jackle slammed one of the playing cards into the floor. It stuck and wobbled with a metallic resonance. Reala glanced at the card, then at Jackle. Hollow thought Reala would be angry- but there was a bit of amusement in his expression. Like he had wanted this to happen- or maybe predicted it. "The two- they got Gillwing" he continued.   
  
Reala's eyes widened slightly. "Recognized as a human, but he still has his original abilities" he mumbled. "That's interesting-"  
  
"INTERESTING? That's not how I'd put it" Jackle growled. "And now we'll never know where they went. Gillwing's energy core by itself would send them to another dream altogether!"  
  
"Mystic Forest."  
  
All eyes went to the groggy, bristly cat in the corner. He stretched, his long claws gleaming faintly as they peeked out from his paws. "Logically, they'd end up in Mystic Forest. The closest dreamspace. And they won't get past the castle."  
  
"What castle?"  
  
"A hidden doorway to a half-nightmare. It can only be seen from above the trees, and it's pretty much the only other way out through any type of dream. Well, unless someone's blocking the way-"  
  
Before anyone could say anything, Clawz had sailed out and away.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
An opening, a yawning void reaching out from what seemed like miles of tightly interlocked trees, was their entrance into Mystic Forest. Shadows twisted and danced within a gloomy, uninviting fog. Claris could feel it's cold aura reaching around her, almost a warning. But there was a curiosity growing inside as well. Maybe because of those distant light, somewhat familiar to her. A soft bubbling sound reached her ears, like a giant soda or a fish tank.  
  
But the uncertainty lingered, and it crept to Claris' expression. NiGHTS noticed it, but he couldn't tell what it was. The fusion from Spring Valley had left the language-translating ability with them, but not mind reading. "What's wrong?"   
  
"We're going in there?"  
  
"Hey, you have nothing to worry about" NiGHTS assured her in the calmest voice he could. He hadn't used the tone much. "You can't get hurt in these dreams. The worst that could happen is if you lost your last Ideya, and then we'd all be in big trouble."  
  
"If they could see the Ideya-" they heard Tope mumble.  
  
"But you're a lot faster than me" Claris reminded him. "How am I supposed to keep up?"  
  
"We could try the combination thing again" he suggested, offering his hand. "It might not work this time, but you never know-"  
  
Seconds later, they were blazing through the trees, with Tope far behind, screaming, "Wait up!"  
  
This flight seemed even faster than the ring trap. Heavy trunks whooshed by, so close Claris could feel tiny pieces of bark break off by the wind splitting around them. She was using his eyes, and she could see a wink of what they were going by. {Slow down!} she screeched, flinching with each close call. {We're gonna hit something!}  
  
{Will you calm down?} NiGHTS replied. {You're making my heart beat too fast. Just remember, you have nothing to worry about. I know what I'm doing!}   
  
They sped out of an extra-thick cluster of trees into an unexpected openness. A definite relief for Claris. There were still trees, but now she could actually see them. Shafts of sunlight illuminated the emerald-laced floor with bright, flickering gold. The leaves above rustled airily, occasionally revealing glimpses of a starry, enchanting pastel sky. Day and night at the same time- how was that possible? Claris attention was drawn elsewhere before she could think about it. NiGHTS seemed confident enough to let her look where she wanted while he was flying.   
  
Further on in the hidden valley, however, the mystical mood changed to something rather intriguing. Large marble blocks littered a hillside nearby. Stone pillars, broken, scratchy sculptures of soft periwinkle and ivory, cracked and stabbed into the grass as if they were part of a structure that somehow existed there. Claris couldn't shake the feeling that something had existed there, and she could tell NiGHTS had the same feeling, though he didn't actually know whether or not it was true.   
  
But one thing totally threw her off. There were streetlights- working streetlights, hanging from the trees. Where did the electicity come from? Claris was immediately reminded of MTV's commercial break clips. Those were the distant lights she had seen- no wonder they seemed familiar. She had seen stoplights the same way from her bedroom window. What really surprised her, though, is that NiGHTS didn't find them a bit out of place.   
  
{So where are we going?}  
  
{There's a cave in here somewhere. I heard about it a long time ago. I don't remember why, though, so I think the Ideya Capture might be in there.}  
  
Suddenly, just as they started passing over the shattered columns, a blue and yellow object darted in front of them. A flash ripped through their vision, a strong force jolting them back through the air. Claris felt like gravity had been latched back onto her, and she saw the light fade into the distance as she was flung into a dense patch of leaves.   
  
"Ow-" she groaned, brushing some loose twigs off her clothes and arms. "Where did NiGHTS go?"  
  
She stood up, staring up at the space that she thought she had fallen from. Nothing, not even remnants of that dazzling flash or that spark trail. Not even sound. In a momentary panic, she wondered if that blue and yellow thing had been some kind of disintegration device. She couldn't be hurt in the dream, but NiGHTS lived there.   
  
The fear was shifted as a slightly familiar sound rang out from close by- literally ringing. That clock again. Claris clambered to the top of a small hill, trying to get a better view. The chimes grew closer,  
but the alarm was nowhere in sight.  
  
Her shoes shuffled the grass restlessly. Where was this thing? It seemed close by- but she was still  
in a valley. She wouldn't be able to tell by sound alone with all the echoes. But if she ran, she might  
run right in its path. Where had Tope gone? He would be able to tell her-  
  
The chimes screamed louder, and she felt short breaths rising in her again. She turned again and  
again. What would that thing do if it caught her? She couldn't actually be hurt, but she knew very   
well she could feel pain in a dream.   
  
A light flickered off the grass nearby. Claris, forgetting she was standing on this steep little hill,   
dashed off in the opposite direction, but tripped when she found no space to step and tumbled  
down the hill. She smashed hard into another steep hill nearby, dropping down and landing wedged   
between the two.   
  
The blow knocked the wind right out of her, and kept it away as the wedge seemed to squeeze  
tighter around her. She managed to drag one arm to the hill's side, but was too stunned to bring  
herself back up. Light shimmered, not too far away- an unexpected apathy swept over her. Her   
mind sank into a sleepy haze. Was this what the clock did? Was she waking up? Whatever it  
was, she'd be home soon-  
  
Suddenly, a vermillion beam split her vision, jerking her back into the dream, shattering the haze.  
Energy returned with quite a rush, and with some strange new confidence. This shouldn't have   
been from a nightmare clock- no, this was her own will. She wanted to fight for this world, no matter  
how unreal it seemed or how much it would really effect her life. After all, if this wasn't real, it was her  
own courage that she was counting on.   
  
The clock's beam swiped the empty wedge, just trailing off Claris' blurred shoes. Where were  
NiGHTS and Tope? Was she on her own now? She decided she'd better find them first, since  
they knew everything about these dreams that she didn't-  
  
Something red caught her eyes. Tope's sleeves were red, as Claris recalled. She cornered and   
headed in that direction instead.   
  
"Hey, that's not-" she realized out loud as she closed in.  
  
She halted, right in front of what she thought was Tope. This may have been better, though- it was a  
car. A shiny red sports car, just big enough for one person her size. She was a little hesitant about   
getting in, but when she heard the alarm clock nearby she had no trouble clambering in the window.  
"Eep- I didn't start driver's ed yet-"  
  
The light swooshed behind her. "ACK! I don't care! Where's the steering wheel?"  
  
There wasn't one. There wasn't even seat belts, just doors, windows, and a seat. She touched the   
bottom of the front windowpane, searching for some kind of control.  
  
The engine revved, shaking the car enough to make Claris lose her balance, and blasted offf up a  
hill, flinging her to the back. She righted herself by placing her hands firmly on the sides. "Hey!" she  
screamed, barely able to form the word. "Who's driving- AAAACK!!"  
  
They squealed around a fallen pillar, the wheels on one side lifting and rolling over the stone, then   
headed for another hill. Wherever this thing was going, though, the clock had lost them. Claris gave  
a relieved sigh, but she knew it would eventually find her again.  
  
The car zoomed down the other side of the hill, finally screeching down into a low, flat-roof   
garage and stopping with a jolt. A shaken Claris pulled herself from the window. She scrambled up   
a column leaning on the garage and dropped down on the roof, hoping desperately that she could do  
something about the situation at hand from that roof without the clock finding her.  
  
"There you are!"  
  
NiGHTS landed next to her. "Good. I thought for a second that you left-" he stopped in mid-sentence  
as he caught Claris' baffled expression. "What? Why are you staring at me like that?"  
  
"You do realize you're looking up at me now?"  
  
He couldn't have been standing higher than the length of Tope's halo. "Oh, that-" his face tinted with  
a slight pink. "I, um, ran into an old 'friend'. Or is it 'friends'? No one knows- anyway, it was a Crewle  
Pole magic trick. It's temporary, don't worry."  
  
Claris did anyway. "How temporary?"  
  
"Not sure. I told you not to worry about it. What bothers me is I don't know how they were able to   
catch me at that speed. They couldn't have know unless they had an exact location-"  
  
"What should we do? And where's Tope?"  
  
"You know, I haven't seen Tope either. Maybe we should look for him. But we can't risk a merger,  
not in this condition. We just have to wait for the spell to wear off."  
  
"Help!" Tope cried out from close by. "I can't fl-"  
  
His frantic shouts were replaced by loud bubbling. Through the echoes, NiGHTS tracked his voice  
back to a thick, steaming swamp, neatly hidden in the shadows of the trees. A tiny hand clasped  
onto the ground nearby, but couldn't quite catch a grip and slipped away. Claris grabbed the hand  
before it was swallowed up. "I hate this place-" Tope mumbled breathlessly as she sat him on the  
grass and combed the sludge out of his wings.   
  
"Don't let the NHC hear that" NiGHTS advised.  
  
"Who?" Claris inquired.  
  
"NHC- *{Naichoupiea Haiya Chaneru.}*"  
  
The words rolled in the strangest accent- Claris doubted she'd be able to say that whole name   
right. NiGHTS continued. "Basically, its a council of spirits that watch over these dreams. No one's  
ever seen them- but not even Wizeman himself dares to go against their word. Supposedly they   
appear here when the Nightopians are singing gloomy songs. Not everyone believes in them, though.  
  
"What about you?"  
  
"Me--? Well- I don't know. I-" his face showed lament and frustration, making Claris feel a bit sorry   
that she asked. But he didn't stop. "I used to only believe something if I saw it with my own eyes.  
But that's what got me into this mess in the first place."  
  
NiGHTS turned away from Claris, but judging by her silence, he could tell that the answer wasn't sufficient enough for her. He didn't want to deal with these creepy emotions right then. Why was   
she bothering him with it? Unless she really wanted to know- who would want to know something  
like that?  
  
"I had always been told indecision was the worst situation. Even more than making the wrong   
decision. I wonder if I decided to take this path, or if I was forced into it."  
  
"Um- you were kinda forced into it" Tope reminded him.  
  
Claris spoke up. "Yeah, but think it over. You know now that they'd drop you like a broken penny if  
they didn't like your decisions. If you bring peace back here, you wouldn't have to worry about these  
things."  
  
He smiled, somewhat weakly, but it was sincere. "You're right."  
  
"Hey, maybe the NHC are in there-"  
  
Claris indicated a steep-sided mountain of marble, just across the swamp. "I don't think so- but   
you never know-" NiGHTS replied with some interest. "I've been here, but I've never actually taken  
a good look at that."  
  
"Not even that box up there?" Tope started off towards it.  
  
Claris shuddered. "It looks like a casket."  
  
"A what?" the other two asked in unison. "What's that?"  
  
"Never mind. I don't wanna go up there."  
  
"We have to" NiGHTS insisted. "For all we know, the Ideya Capture could be in there."  
  
"Oh- all right" she agreed reluctantly.  
  
She scaled the side while NiGHTS and Tope flew to the top. The summit was flattened out and set  
in marble, with pillars that didn't quite reach the ceiling, like the Ideya Palace. The stone on the   
edges had many elaborate designs of flowers and vines carved into it- even that box. The bottom melted smoothly into the floor, the ends of the lid curled at the corners, as if it had once hung   
by ropes. Claris' anxiety was instantly turned away. What reached her here wasn't cold and   
ghastly- mysterious, maybe. But the air was somehow more- logical. Like a puzzle. NiGHTS  
examined the box, then attempted to lift the lid, but in his current state he couldn't even take a  
secure hold on the edge. He looked expectantly at Claris.  
  
"Hey, I'm not a weightlifter" Claris objected.  
  
"You've got the best chance out of all of us."  
  
As she expected, the lid wouldn't budge. But before she could say anything, Tope cleared his   
throat loudly. "You haven't listened to a word I've said, have you? It takes minerals to open this  
thing!"  
  
"Min-" NiGHTS thought a second. "The sub-crystal!"  
  
"Very good" Tope sneered. He clicked his tongue and added, "Closed ears-"  
  
"You should be talking about ears" NiGHTS scorned.  
  
"HEY! You're smaller than me now, so watch it!"  
  
"Bring it on, ya little cream puff!"  
  
"Who YOU calling a cream puff?! You're the one wearing pink and purple!"  
  
"Guys, we've got more important things to deal with!" Claris scolded.  
  
She stepped back and placed one hand over her mouth. She didn't usually yell at people like that.  
She hoped they weren't angry- "Sorry."  
  
"No, you're right" Tope said.  
  
NiGHTS made a hideous face at the little angel. Who did that thing think he was, anyway? If they  
were in the nightmares-  
  
{We AREN'T in the nightmares} he reminded himself harshly.  
  
This behavior was totally un-Nightopianish. It was bordering nightmarish. There was something this  
little guy wasn't telling, he knew it. They'd just have to find out- he pulled out the sub-crystal, put  
when he did he was barely able to handle it. He lifted it up and shoved it over the top of the lid. It  
rolled to the center of the cover, coming to rest there.  
  
A spark grew inside, a gold one, like the Nightmaren spirit spark. The spark grew longer and brighter,  
until the beams crawled up the sides and the whole mineral began to radiate a deep, unearthly blue  
light. The lid slowly began to spin, twisting away and up towards the ceiling. Golden light exploded  
from underneath it. The lid clapped onto the ceiling with the sub-crystal in between. Claris and Tope  
crept closer, but NiGHTS hung back. "What's wrong? Scared?" Tope snickered.  
  
"No" NiGHTS snapped. "I don't like bright light, that's all. It hurts my eyes."  
  
"Guys! There's a cave in here!"  
  
Claris had lowered her head into the box. Her voice did echo like there was a lot of space. "I'm going  
in."  
  
"I'll go too-"   
  
"I don't want to go" Tope said suddenly.  
  
NiGHTS could see a tinge of fear in his expression. "Now who's the scared one-"  
  
"I'm not scared, I just don't want to!" he yelled.  
  
"Don't start fighting, please, guys-" Claris cut in nervously. "Maybe Tope should stay out here, to  
watch for trouble."  
  
"Yeah, I'll do that" Tope agreed.  
  
NiGHTS dropped down into the cave with his eyes tightly shut. Claris followed, skidding down the steep wall and almost landing face-first to the floor. She got up, brushing off rocks from her shorts.  
"Hey, the light got dimmer. NiGHTS, you can open your eyes-"  
  
His eyes were still a little tweaked, but what he saw kept them open. The walls, pieces of the ceiling,  
even the floor, was lined with thousands and thousands of glowing crystals. Blues, greens, and pinks shimmered off every corner of this tranquil cavern. This was almost an amazing sight as Twin Seeds  
had been- not quite so big. "We must be in the core of the dream" he said breathlessly.  
  
"Yeah-" Claris breathed, visibly just as astonished.   
  
"But I don't see how they could possibly get down here to place the Ideya Capture- this place is all positive energy. It'd probably do some serious damage to a Nightmaren-"  
  
"But aren't you a Nightmaren?"  
  
He hadn't thought about that, and wondered if he should leave- but he felt fine. In fact, he felt stronger  
than he had outside. "You know- I have no explanation."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
There was more bright light ahead, just around a corner. They came across a blazing ball, hovering in  
the air, that toned down when they reached it, just like the cave.   
  
It was a golden star, about the width of NiGHTS' head. Claris wondered if it was real gold. Real gold didn't hover in the air, but as far as she knew, neither did windmills. NiGHTS, however, was baffled.   
He had seen this star before, and he knew it was important now- just not what for. "Go on and take  
that" he instructed. "And don't lose it. I got a feeling-"  
  
Claris picked it out of the air. No, it wasn't gold, at least not solid. She would have dropped a gold  
object that size. But that was the least on her mind when the light completely faded from the cave.  
She shrieked. "N-NiGHTS? Was that a bad thing?"  
  
A tremor ran through the cave, dropping pieces of the ceiling nearby. "It wasn't the star" NiGHTS  
told her as he turned to the opposite wall. "Someone took the sub-crystal!"  
  
More boulders crashed down, judging from the sound, not more than yards away. Claris bolted to the other side of the cave, with NiGHTS one her trail- but not for long. His size had really killed his speed.  
He couldn't even keep up with the drill dash.   
  
Just as Claris thought- the other side of the cave also had an exit- but it came out through a huge   
log. She climbed out just in time to see the ceiling collapse, and sat down to catch her breath. A   
few minutes passed before she realized she was alone.  
  
"NiGHTS?"  
  
Her question echoed down through the log with a chilling hollowness, without a response. Without   
another thought, she jumped back into the cave, calling out frantically until she reached the bottom.  
"NiGHTS, you'd better not be playing tricks on me-"  
  
She stepped on something soft, and backed away. The light revealed a hand, without a wrist, sticking  
out from the crumbled ceiling.   
  
A knot tied in her throat, her stomach falling to her feet. "NiGHTS- " she choked. "Please- please say  
this is a game-" Tears spilled over as her voice rose to a near scream. "NO! This can't be happening!"  
  
She fell to her knees, burying her face in her hands. "I should have stopped and taken him- why did   
I run again?! This courage Ideya- it's a fake. It's not real, not by me-"  
  
Suddenly something clasped around her ankle. She paused for a moment to look down.   
  
It was the hand.  
  
The cave rattled once more as screams ripped through the air.  
  
"Calm down, Claris! Could you help me out, here?"  
  
She timidly reached for the hand, then pulled as hard and as quickly as she could. He slid out quite  
easily, then righted himself. "I'm feeling- kinda two-dimensional-"  
  
Claris didn't seem to care that he was thinner than a feather at the moment. She clung to him, this  
time with tears of relief. NiGHTS, startled, drill-dashed away, returning him to his normal size and  
shape. "What's the matter with you?!" he exclaimed.   
  
"Nothing-" she sniffled, wiping her eyes.  
  
He approached, staring into her eyes, trying to find some meaning. "Why are you so scared of  
everything?"  
  
"If you don't know-" Claris replied in a shaking voice. "Then you must not have a lot to fear where you  
come from."  
  
Once again, he was startled. How could she say something like that? She didn't have any idea what it  
was like where he came from.  
  
Then again, he has no idea what it was like where she came from.  
  
Whatever the case, it wasn't a good idea to stay in that cave. They left through the log. "Well, I  
guess we got something, but not the Ideya Capture-"  
  
"Wait, what happened to the sub-crystal? Wasn't Tope supposed to watch it?"  
  
"You're right-" NiGHTS glanced up at the marble mountain. "C'mon, we gotta get up there."  
  
They were there in a flash, and decombined. "Tope's gone" Claris observed.  
  
"Yeah-" NiGHTS had growing suspicion in his tone.   
  
"What is it?"  
  
"I got a feeling--"  
  
Claris' eyes widened. "You think he took the crystal?"  
  
"There is a possibility. Remember that Tope all the sudden just decided that he wasn't going to go  
in the cave?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Remember what I said about it being the core of the dream?"  
  
"Yeah- oh, I see-"  
  
They searched around the box a few times when NiGHTS noticed a thin layer of gold dust building   
up around Claris' shoes. He dropped to the ground, and ran his index finger along the ground. It was  
coated in the gold powder. "Guess I was wrong."  
  
"What?"  
  
"There was a Nightmaren here."  
  
Claris approached him, confused. "How do you know?"  
  
"This is paraloop dust. There's only one other active Nightmaren I know that can paraloop. And I   
know when he's around, so it wasn't Tope."  
  
"Paraloop dust--"  
  
Claris placed her hand over her mouth as NiGHTS started off down the hill, following a trail of broken  
blue shards. But before they could get anywhere, the star floated away from Claris, gathering the   
shards as it went by and placing them around it, like a puzzle. Once all the pieces were in place,   
the cracks sealed with tiny silver sparkles, and Tope tumbled out from behind it and landed on his  
head. "Ow! Hey-"  
  
"What happened?" NiGHTS demanded.  
  
"Some jerk that looked like you ambushed me! I swear I'll bite him if anyone holds my mouth shut  
like that again-"  
  
"Reala was here, then-"  
  
For a moment, NiGHTS seemed distant. "Let's go. I doubt the Capture's here."   
  
He and Claris merged, and they left the mountain. They soon came across a stone wall, rising high  
above the trees, along with a wooden door hidden behind a thick layer of vines. To Claris' surprise,   
the door pulled away quite easily, but NiGHTS had difficulty moving through the door for some   
unseen reason. {It feels like it's trying to push us away-} Claris thought as they floated around a  
spiral staircase.  
  
{This is a half-nightmare. I may not be able to go through here. It's where a dream and a nightmare  
cross over. Since I don't have five types of Ideya, I'm not permitted.}  
  
The door was a few stories below them now. {You're not going to drop me again, are you?}  
  
NiGHTS grinned. {I don't know, you're getting kinda heavy-}  
  
{HEY! Don't even joke about that!}  
  
The staircase ended abruptly, and they continued upwards. The top sported a few distorted windows,  
most of them with crooked steel bars jammed into them. Claris didn't like the look of it- but outside,  
the sky was a clear as it could be. A jumble of sparkling, swirling clouds. A tiny opening in the   
ceiling was their way out.   
  
A half laugh, half-meow rang out through the tower, and something descended in front of them with  
startling speed. The bristling silhouette was the only clue Claris could find, but she could tell NiGHTS  
recognized it.  
  
"They only sent Clawz-" NiGHTS shook his head sadly. "They think they can take me down that   
easily-"  
  
"Oh, but you've never seen what I can do-"  
  
He slipped back into darkness. Suddenly the interior of the tower was illuminated, and the giant cat  
could be seen hanging from what appeared to be a pink mouse. It didn't move, so they concluded it  
wasn't real. Sparks flew as he scraped two claws together with an ear-splitting noise.   
  
The tail of the mouse flared up in orange sparks. {A firecracker} Claris realized.  
  
{A what?}  
  
No sooner than NiGHTS had asked the question, a small explosion shot the firecracker at them. By  
the time they avoided it, three more fuses were quickly diminishing. As more and more sparks flew  
and rocketed off, they could see hundreds of the pink mice strapped to the ceiling.   
  
{How are we gonna stop this?!}  
  
{We have to get a fix on Clawz}  
  
Clawz stopped to catch his breath, watching the shower of fire with a wide grin. But through all the  
whistling and booming, something didn't seem quite right. A tiny noise behind him.   
  
Tope waved, just as the fuse of Clawz's firecracker ran out.   
  
One of the explosions was accompanied by yowling and an acute stench of singed fur. This seemed  
to stop all the other fuses. The smoke from the firecrackers was split by the light of an exploding   
spark-- 


	5. The Confusion

NiGHTS Into Dreams  
Chapter 5 - The Confusion  
  
*Notes*  
Wow - can you believe I've been re-writing this for over a year?! ^_^() Eep. Well, anyway, we're halfway done. This chapter's shorter than the others, though.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
The main nightmare was in uproar. Many Nightmaren had been recalled. Most of them were trying to avoid Jackle. He had calmed for the time, arranging his cards on the floor in a pattern they assumed he could only read. They could tell he was edgy, though, his sharp eyes had turned from clever to threatening. It was odd, becuase usually one didn't have to go to his eyes to find his emotions.   
  
Reala was the other quiet one, but this wasn't unusual. As he suspected, NiGHTS would be a problem. Why didn't the others see this? They didn't know him as well as he did. He felt a little foolish, though, after the cave collapse. He should have remembered that morphing trick. At least he was getting closer to stopping him than the others.   
  
He could see he might have to take this into his own hands. But he had been told to stay out of the way for the time, and he couldn't go against the order. It frustrated him far more than he let on.   
  
Light glinted across the room, reflecting off jewels worn by one off the less-seen first-levels. A loud, almost haunting voice drowned out the others. "Direct attacks aren't the answer."  
  
The balloon-shaped maren squirmed her way across the floor, the bright colors of her clothing reflecting impossibly bright in the dim light. Several maren had to turn their heads away. Her fluffy, magenta rabbit ears flopped around her heavily painted face. She moved somewhat gracefully for someone with no feet. "Don't you remember that he has been proven the greatest fighter out of all of us? And now that that human with him, he's part real."  
  
"So Reala only trashed him before because he wasn't -"  
  
Jackle stopped short as he caught Reala's menacing stare, then cleared his throat and continued. "Uh, Puffy - what are you suggesting that we do?"  
  
"If we can't take him on physically, maybe we should see how he fares in a mental challenge."  
  
"It won't work."  
  
Puffy's soft eyes turned cold as they focused on Reala. She was normally one the other maren didn't fear, but when she got angry, a stare like that was hard to ignore. However, Reala wasn't one to back down from someone ranked lower than he was. He returned a sure, challenging glare. Puffy tried to mask the pinch of nervousness she felt, but it heightened her melodic voice to a squeal. "Why not?"  
  
"Why won't you open your eyes and see for yourself?"  
  
She scowled deeply. "Ever since you've been moved up-"  
  
"What?"  
  
Reala's claws came into view. From the look on his face, Puffy could tell he meant to do that. But it wasn't going to work now. "Ever since you've been moved up you've been off-duty, but everything you say or do is right for some reason! Say what you want, but you can't stop me. I have clearance -" she turned and flipped her ears over her head. "And you don't."  
  
The blue in his eyes darkened to a venomous purple. But before he could say or do anything, Puffy rushed over to him. "You say another word and Wizeman will hear about your trip to Mystic Forest."  
  
His claws scraped threateningly across the wall behind him, but he restrained himself. With that, Puffy bounded across the room and out of the nightmare.  
  
"Idiot" Reala hissed.  
  
Jackle glanced up sharply as a chunk of the wall fell apart in Reala's hand. "What makes you so sure whatever she's doing won't work?" he questioned, careful to keep his tone flat.  
  
Stifling heat drifted by him. A green glow was eminating from the wall shards, the same around Reala's fist. "You've gone and done it now, Puff -"  
  
His voice was surprisingly calm as he explained. "It doesn't matter what ridiculous idea he's fighting for - NiGHTS is still a Nightmaren. He thinks like one. He knows what others are thinking. She's basing her plan on the assumption he doesn't have a clue of the tricks she can play."  
  
The glow vanished in a puff of emerald flame, swallowing Reala up with it.   
  
"He's got a plan, too - " Jackle muttered.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Claris breathed a cheerful sigh as they passed over yet another sculpture, a gorgeously-detailed piece, yet it was puzzling. Something that wouldn't be possible in the real world, but it was here. The whole dream was a little off-balance. When they first arrived, Claris had stepped on what appeared to be a solid brick path, but instead the path (and much of the ground around her) sunk as if it were made of cloth. At that point she had been too frightened to notice the features of this unique garden. But now that she had a better (and safer) view, she could enjoy what lay around her.  
  
NiGHTS, however, had other things on his mind. He tried to shove it as far away from Claris' thoughts as possible, but if she pried into it, he couldn't hide unless he dropped her.  
  
It was the gold star. It had merged neatly with the sub-crystal, a good thing, but he was worried. The star was also needed to release the Capture's hold, and there was something else needed, too. But all the worry in the world couldn't make him remember what it was. How were they supposed to find it? Unless they were to run into it accidently, they'd have to do without it - and he wasn't sure he could do that. What if one of the other maren - Reala, maybe - had taken it? Then he'd have to fight them, and there was no doubt they'd lead him into a place of extreme disadvantage.  
  
{NiGHTS - who's Reala?}  
  
A quick splash of surprise was overtoned with mixing feelings. Mostly negative. Claris cringed, immediately wishing she hadn't asked.  
  
He didn't respond, anyway. Tope noticed the tenseness. "Hey guys. We're kinda slowing d-"  
  
"Look!" Claris cut in, stopping them. "Another sub-crystal!"  
  
Right in front ot them, hovering in midair, was a blue sphere that looked remarkably similar to the sub-crystal. But it wasn't quite the same. It had no reflective tones, in fact, they could make out tiny green shadows lurking around on the surface. As they circled it, they found a thick piece of gold on the side, in the shape of a tiara.   
  
"Maybe it had a star like ours, and it got melted" Claris reasoned, fingering the gold piece.  
  
Suddenly the piece sent something through. Not through her, but NiGHTS. Like a shadow across his mind. A surge of panic yanked their hand away from the strange crystal.  
  
{A Nightmaren!} he told her, backing away from the shuddering gem.  
  
The crystal trilled as the green surface shadows brightened and melted together. A violet strand rolled out, followed by several bristling spines and a tail that appeared to have no end. Two very tiny eyes blinked at them from behind the purple strand. A tongue, Claris realized.  
  
{Odie better move over -}  
  
{It won't lick us. It'd rather go after Tope. I'd be more worried about the spikes.}  
  
Just as NiGHTS had predicted, it rolled up in a ball so that only the spines were visible. It then gave a louder, harsher trill and rolled in the air towards them. NiGHTS was just barely able to sidestep the creature. He then exploded away, blasting above the short trees. Despite the crushing speed they were still adding to, Claris still could hear the raucous chirping of the flying lizard very close by. But NiGHTS didn't seem rattled or concerned.  
  
{At least there's no trees to run into.}  
  
{HEY! Did I EVER run into a tree??}  
  
{You ran into SOMETHING! What are we doing, anyway? Can't you just use that exploding thing?}  
  
{The paraloop?} NiGHTS split a few thin clouds, then halted. {No need.}  
  
He turned directly around. The thinness of the air around them put Claris even more on edge - it was as if they were just barely hanging onto the sky. She forced herself to look down.  
  
All she saw was the creature plummeting back through the clouds, blue shards trailing behind it. {Verol may be quick} NiGHTS laughed, {But there's no way it can keep up with a first-level- at least not without falling to pieces.}  
  
They started a slow descent, spiraling gently back below the misty clouds. Claris caught a view of the garden again - just as entrancing as the first time she saw it. A warming tranquility rested on her mind. But there was a twinge of sadness in NiGHTS'. Was it something from the past?, she probed.   
  
His eyes directed her vision to the horizon. There she could see what looked like a glowing river. Vivid purples and fuschias turned in the slow current, twisting around the whole garden. Oddly enough, the background appeared to stop right there. With this observation, she noted a creeping sense of enclosure. She didn't expect it. {What is that?}  
  
He stopped again. This time his thoughts were laced with an overcoming blue. {The dream edge.}  
  
{Dreams don't have limits} Claris told him, through his clear feelings made her much less uncertain of her words.  
  
{They do. They always do. Most people your age don't know that yet, so I shouldn't expect you to.}  
  
Why was he so negative? Claris grew a bit frustrated. She could barely hear the "I know because I'm older" speech from her parents.  
  
{Of course} NiGHTS grumbled. {What would a Nightmaren know? They can't dream.}  
  
Again, Claris searched his mind for truth. It stuck out in plain view. He wanted her to see it.  
  
He DID have a dream for himself.   
  
The dream had been crumpled, torn, and stuffed into a dusty cabinet, but it still lingered. And NiGHTS' view seeped into her mind once more, with a great deal of clarity. Sure, he was leading them along. He was the one who knew these Nightmaren and how to deal with them, he was the one that was supposed to be helping her. But it was turning out to be the other way around. That night he had been confined he had finally grasped that he was an individual, not a mindless gear in a huge machine. That's what he had been treated as, but not what he felt like anymore. He was just confused. He just needed proof.  
  
They were jerked out of their quiet reflections as something clamped down in their arm, tearing through NiGHTS' wide white sleeve. They caught a glimpse of long, glossy fangs before a painful, powerful jolt rolled through them. Both cried out at once, unable to move.   
  
{Let --- GO!}  
  
The jarring force drained from Claris as she tumbled back towards the ground. She was screaming anyway.  
  
Then, just as branches were rushing just inches from her head, she began to slow. She could feel something grasping on, pushing into her back and fluttering hard. Tiny hands. They set her on the ground.   
  
One of the Nightopians in the circle spoke up. "Claris, you all right?"  
  
She grabbed hold of him and squeezed him to her chest. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou" she babbled.  
  
All the other Nightopians ran and hid. Claris dropped Tope and and got to her feet. "Hey, wait! What's the matter?"   
  
Her face fell. Tope flapped over by her side. "Don't let it bother you, kid. They're very suspicious nowadays. The Nightmaren made them that way. They run from you because you're missing Ideya, and the one you have left is pushed away."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"You have not shown courage, but you have the potential to do so."  
  
"The concert, you mean" Claris stared at her shoes. The edges looked a bit scorched. "How do you know about that?"  
  
"Never mind."  
  
"Yeah, never mind. I don't know why this Ideya sticks around with me."  
  
"Claris, it IS you. You have courage. We've seen it. That nightmare, where you were about to sing? You weren't going to let those maren bother you until they showed their true form."  
  
She hadn't thought about it that way before, but it was just one thing. And it was in a dream. You couldn't rely on the way you acted in dreams to tell how you would act in reality.  
  
"Why are you here by yourself? Where's NiGHTS?"  
  
"Oh no" she gasped, looking sharply to the sky. "We got attacked by something!"  
  
Both of them squinted up to the clouds, but the sky was blank.   
  
A deafening RIIIIINNNNNGGGGG startled them into a run. The ground squooshed under Claris' unsteady feet. "Ack! This is like trying to run on a trampoline-" she cried. "Wait -"  
  
At the next ridge she sprang up, soaring over yards of flat grass and landing as heavy as she could manage. The rubber-like ground catapulted her far into the air, throwing her into a somersault. Tope cartwheeled after her. They landed roughly on a walkway, stumbling into an open door of one of a building nearby.   
  
"What in the world -" Claris queried, turning her head sideways. That actually made the building look normal. A museum. There were paintings on the wall - or floor, as it appeared now. She slid down the surface to looks at one of the paintings.  
  
It was a portrait of her.  
  
She stumbled backwards, right into a glass wall. A giant mirror. "What is this?"  
  
"This is the Hall of Reflection. Your memories."  
  
The two of them cautiously made their way through the building, careful not to step on any of the paintings. "If you step on your own memories, they'll appear broken and lost" Tope warned.  
  
"A lot of them are" Claris mumbled.  
  
"I can see you don't have a lot of confidence."  
  
"When did you figure that out?"  
  
Tope pointed to the mirror wall. Claris had noticed the silver decoration, but she hadn't stopped to look at her reflection. And now that she did, it didn't look very decorative. A pair of dark eyes stared back at her, large, distant, clouded with sorrow and despair. Her hair, her skin, her whole form was faded, wispy. Her clothes in this image were different - a beautiful white dress, or what would have been, but it was torn and stained, dull.   
  
Claris managed a choking squeak, but before she got upset, Tope touched the mirror. It wavered like a pond, and a golden light spread over the wall before it disappated into a new image. This new reflection was just as startling to her as the old one. She was glowing - sparkling. She was filled with strength and radiance, a candle in the mist of the night. But she was small, and the sparkling seemed like a firework - blazing only for a few seconds. "What - who - is this?" she whispered.  
  
"This - is how your friends see you. How your parents see you. How WE see you. We seem to know you better than yourself, Claris - you are something special. You just have to prove that to yourself."  
  
Absolutely stunned, Claris knelt down in front of the mirror. She had been thinking the same thing about NiGHTS minutes earlier.   
  
Maybe they had come across each other for a reason. That's what she was believing -  
  
Claris and Tope walked out of the museum in a ponderous silence, only to have it broken by ringing again. "Oops" Tope shrugged, fluttering off.  
  
"Need a lift?"   
  
NiGHTS hovered above Claris, grinning. "About time!" she yelled back.  
  
A sabertooth lion, the one that had bitten them before, was not far behind. But the flash from the combination blinded it. It kept running, straight into a giant blue cannon. NiGHTS and Claris flew over, and slammed the top shut. The cannon rumbled, and fired the little creature off in a ball of yellow fur.  
  
"That was close -" NiGHTS sighed, rubbing his sore arm. "Let's go inside the museum. The Nightmaren won't go in there."  
  
{Just as long as it's not the Hall of Reflection} Claris requested.  
  
"I'm going to search the dreamedge for the Capture" Tope called. "I'll catch up!"  
  
The two waved, turned, and smashed right into the door. They could hear Tope snicker as he flew away.  
  
"What -??"  
  
{It opened for me-}  
  
They pushed the heavy door aside and flew in before it shut. This building had the floor in the right place - and was filled with colors. Amazingly brilliant hues. Many of them Claris could not name. The walls were splashed with paint and murals, littered with large, entrancing jewels and metals. They passed over a long, curved table, dressed up and ready for dinner. "Where are we now?"   
  
"The Hall of Imagination" NiGHTS replied cheerfully. "One of my favorites. But I don't get to come here much."  
  
"Don't worry. You don't have to leave this time. In fact, you can't."  
  
The whisper echoed very clearly through the corridor, but they couldn't tell where it had come from. NiGHTS whirled and headed back where they came from - but was faced with a wall. It didn't scare him like it did Claris, though.  
  
{What are we going to do?!}  
  
{It's a confusion spell} NiGHTS thought calmly. {We're not stuck here. Just an illusion. Now to find out who's doing this -}  
  
A rush of wind answered his question. He backed up just in time to avoid Puffy's drop tackle. "I guess they're moving up a step" NiGHTS laughed. "But you're still not enough to take me on."   
  
"We'll see about that."  
  
The room began to shift again, along with a mind-bending music that forced the two to cover their ears. "I'll never think I'm a bad singer again" Claris vowed.  
  
But NiGHTS saw right though the images, his sharp blue eyes picking apart each twisting detail. Their feet crushed again, starting a drill dash that sent the rabbit maren crashing through a wall Claris didn't realize was there. It shattered like a raindrop on concrete.   
  
That didn't faze Puffy, though. She got right back up and bounded towards them. {Can you paraloop her?} Claris suggested.  
  
{No. She'd just squeeze out, like a balloon. We need something that won't let her slide.}  
  
Claris glanced around. Her eyes fell on the wall rubble below them. {Maybe -}  
  
NiGHTS caught the drift. {That'll work!}  
  
They flashed towards Puffy again, faking a drill dash. This time, NiGHTS stopped and grabbed onto a blue sash she was wearing.   
  
The sash caught his attention. It wasn't flimsy at all, in fact, it was made out of round, smoothed jewels. {It's the third piece!} he exclaimed. {This is what we need to release the Capture's hold!}  
  
{What? I thought the sub-}  
  
He spun the giant maren around by the ring, then hurled her into the wall, holding on tightly to the precious item. With a surprised squeal, Puffy smashed into the base of the wall and was instantly buried by multicolored boulders.   
  
Rays of light flew from under the debris as NiGHTS held the ring up.   
  
And then, the world was blown apart.  
  
Claris tumbled away from NiGHTS, washed in a raging tide of blinding yellow and white. The world wasn't the only thing falling to pieces - she felt like she was too. Something was searching inside her, clawing and reaching at something she couldn't block. She resisted, running backwards. "HELP!" she hollered. "NiGHTS! PLEASE!"  
  
She bumped into something. A warm figure. She turned to a silhouette.  
  
"Don't worry, child. I'll take care of you."  
  
NiGHTS' eyes flickered with rage at the sound of that raspy, echoing voice. "CLARIS, NO! RUN!" he screamed. "DON'T G-"  
  
He was cut off, silenced by a suffocating blow to the chest. He lost control - he couldn't fly anymore. He was falling from the light, separated from the world. The only thing he could do was reach helplessly towards the fading silhouette - and the dreamer he knew woud never see another true ray of daylight again. 


	6. The Affection

NiGHTS Into Dreams  
Chapter 6 - The Affection  
  
*Notes*  
I must apologize, one, for the time it took to get this out, as with every other time, and two, for the story that I think is missing here. -_- The answer to both is a lack of inspiration that lingered over me for the past few months, hopefully, it will go away soon. I'll probably end up re-writing this chapter when this story comes to and end.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
A quiet blue moonlight just barely managed to reach into the room, drowned out by the screaming gold of the skyscraper lights outside. The city of Twin Seeds, like most cities, never sleeping. Elliot thought he would never get to sleep, either, after all that had happened today, but there he was, teetering on the edge of consciousness. Tommorow had slipped from his mind, he thought in mostly images now, as the ones he figured her would fear later.  
  
He had just drifted off, when the light outside dimmed. The moonlight, that curious, searching light, slowly began to strengthen. Blurry shadows splayed across the walls, but the window itself was clear. And if one listened carefully, if the air had been completely silent, they might have been able to hear the faint, lofty voices in the room - if they didn't think it was a figment of their imagination.  
  
"This one's damaged bad. Are you sure it's not broken?"  
  
"You can't break energy, conehead."  
  
"Hey, don't take your frustrations out on me because you lost the girl -"  
  
What were these people talking about?   
  
CONEHEAD???  
  
Elliot could hear the absurd converstion blended in the small crowd waiting by the court gates, but with the game going on, he didn't have time to look. He dashed around the outside circle, rushing up towards Chris as he tried his hardest to catch him on the way. Elliot and Reid's plan worked perfectly, even though Chris already knew it. As he heard and turned his head, just for a moment, to see Reid rush by, the ball was already sailing towards Elliot. Right up to the hoop.  
  
Their success seemed to be a unnoticed though, for as they played, Elliot observed that he didn't hear any conversions like he did before. Maybe they had been playing too long and the others waiting for the courts gave up. He stopped for a moment to look at the gates.  
  
There was a few people there, among them, an obviously shaken, frightened girl with vivid pink hair, and another person he couldn't quite make out through the bars of the fence. Very out of place, setting aside the fact that the poor girl looked like she scared easily. It might have just been a misjudgement, though, so he decided he'd better not act on it. Reid sent the ball his way.  
  
He caught it easily enough, but hesitated. There was a shadow next to his, too tall to be any one of his friends. Before he could look, a small rush of wind whooshed by his face, and he felt the ball forced from his unprepared hands.   
  
Startled blue eyes met a laughing violet pair, just moments before the ball swished through the opposite hoop.   
  
It was that blond kid and his team again, standing over him, and what did he expect? They were laughing at him. Was it really that funny?   
  
Something was different about this laughter, though. Yet another out-of-place thing that tweaked his mind. Of course he had been laughed at before. And these guys sounded the same as ever. But, in the tone of their voice, deep within the blended sounds, it struck him as off-key. It was almost - evil.  
  
One of the other boys heaved the ball at him. Too depressed to even look at it, he left his hands at his sides. The ball struck him in the chest and floated to the ground.  
  
It didn't come back up like it should have. He glanced down at his shoes, and his eyes widened in horror. The ball was melting! It was pooling on the ground, seeping just below the surface and overcoming the smooth, pastel concrete with a menacing black shadow. He dodged the darkening parts of the ground, backing as far as he could towards the fence.   
  
Those boys were still laughing. He barely noticed, he was trying to find a way away from the ground shadow. Shouldn't they be trying to get away too? Or at least going like "What the -????"   
  
Their laughter did turn to a shrieking tone, but it was still laughing. When he finally did tear his eyes away from the shadow, he found himself looking into the menacing red eyes of a wispy, shadowy ghost.  
  
His feet took off on his own. He had no idea where he was going, the shadow has somehow swallowed up the serene-looking city and replaced in with nauseating neon walls. This time he didn't even notice the faint voices arguing as they started up again.  
  
"The gate's not responding. He must be blocking us! Him - or someone else -"  
  
"NiGHTS, you'd better do something quick!" Tope yelled, fluttering his wings anxiously.  
  
NiGHTS attempted to stick his hand through the opening in the dream, but it was flung out with a burst of red energy. "I can't get in! It's already a nightmare!"  
  
"Well that's just GREAT!"  
  
"If it's so frustrating to you, then why don't YOU go in there?!" NiGHTS suggested angrily.  
  
Tope cringed, then his wings flopped down. NiGHTS' piercing scowl remained on his face as he turned away and stared helplessly at the rift.  
  
Strangely, Elliot didn't feel at all tired after running this far, but the corridor was really making him dizzy. Plus, the ghosts didn't have to worry about feet to keep moving and not trip over - exactly what he had to worry about right at that moment. His shoe caught on a stone that had jutted out of the floor, sending him into a sprawl. He heard the cover of his wristwatch shatter, and quickly rolled over so not to cut himself on the shards.  
  
That was when he was plucked from the ground. The ghosts where around him now, he could feel their cold auras in their hands as they moved around him. Something was being forced away, something very fragile, but something he was not aware of before. As one of the creature's hands moved over his heart, something rose to meet it. He couldn't breathe. The thing was stuck, he didn't want to lose it because he could feel that losing it wouldn't be right, but the more he struggled, the more intense the pressure was on his chest. At the last second he fell limp, allowing the object to be extracted.   
  
A transparent, crystalline sphere. The white light radiating from it's core was so brilliant that two of the ghosts couldn't look at it. A blazing yellow one, a very warming green one, and an intense blue one followed shortly. He watched the lights flow around him, touching the unsightly walls around him and causing them to shrink back. What were these lights? Should he let them steal them? Would he die without them? He reached one arm up to touch the beautiful light. "This is straight up out of Sailor Moon -" he mumbled.  
  
One of the beasts snarled at him, batting his arm back down. It looked like there was something else they were looking for. Once again, that suffocating pressure weighed down on him as he screwed his eyes shut.  
  
But there was no brilliant lights. There was no flash of color that would make a rainbow jealous. They had pulled out a dingy, red sphere with a dirty, spiky crystal inside. The ghosts looked at it in dismay.   
  
"That's it? THAT'S what we're looking for??"  
  
"Apparently. It's red, isn't it?"  
  
"It's gotta be a decoy or something. Maybe that purple freak already got to him."  
  
"Humans can't just take in energy like that. You know what weaklings they are."  
  
A bit of anger surged through the sapphire-haired boy. At the same time, the red in the sphere seemed to brighten a bit.  
  
"Just take it. We can fix the stupid thing later. Leave the wannabe to his pathetic little excuse for a life. He won't be living it for long anyway, once Wizeman gets ahold of this."  
  
The speaking ghost was suddenly clocked by a heavy blue shoe. Elliot dropped to the floor with the red sphere under his arm. It sucked back into him. "You just said the magic word" he growled. "Wannabe? I think not. This is the real deal here! And what are you, huh? Where'd you put Reid and Chris?"  
  
The ghosts refused to answer, instead responding by chasing him. He turned and ran, but now Chris and Reid were on his mind. They had probably gotten lost in this creepy place, too, and what if those lights were taken from them by more ghosts? He had to go back.  
  
He swallowed hard, willing himself to turn around. 'Just go' he ordered himself.  
  
Screaming at the top of his lungs, he dashed right past the ghosts and headed back the way he came. But his path was blocked somehow, engulfed in red light - that was radiating from his own heart! He felt himself lifted by this energy, he feet leaving the ground, leading him towards a hole in the ceiling with a vivid green light pouring from it. Seconds later he hit solid, warm ground.  
  
It was not very stable ground, in fact, it would probably make a nice mattress. It was powdery, salt-white sand, just on the edge of a tiny lake. Much cleaner-looking than the beaches he had been to. The lake itself looked like a freshly-polished fountain.   
  
He pulled himself to his feet, holding onto a patch of grass that was growing out over the sand behind him. His legs were a bit wobbily from that whole ordeal.  
  
Color flooded his eyes. He almost fell again, overtaken by the rolling greens, blues and peaches. He had to blink several times before he could actually look at anything solidly. There were these little pools everywhere, all gathered around one big lake off in the distance, glimmering with the gentle cerulean of the sky and its seafoam-soft clouds. The hills, had they been any greener, they might have to name it a new color. He took a deep breath, like it was what he was supposed to do. His lungs took in a cleansing, cool scent, and some kind of mysterious, ethereal rhythm that was all around him, but one he couldn't hear. Something was blocking it.   
  
A large blue bowl sat in the grass nearby. Maybe he could find some answers in there. He trotted over to it. Inside, there was a smaller, darker blue bowl.  
  
The next thing he knew he was splattered on the ground again, his hair and face soaking and the bowl spewing water high into the air. "I thought this was going to be a friendly place" he muttered, brushing as much water out of his hair as he could with his hand.  
  
"You have to be careful about those" a small voice advised.   
  
Elliot didn't know what he expected to show from behind the fountain, but it sure wasn't a little angel with a cone-shaped head. He shook his own head in disbelief and stared up at the sky, where the rocketing fountain spray was just ending in a burst of sparkles. "All righty then" he sighed. "No more of that Super Spicy Special Pizza after game day anymore - might as well play with this while I'm here, though. Where is here, anyway? And what are you?"  
  
"Well, first off, this is Nightopia, and I'm a Nightopian."  
  
"That's the first thing I've heard here that makes sense!"  
  
Tope tapped his halo impatiently. "Look, guy, I'd love to sit and joke around, but there's some really bad stuff going on here. See, this guy Wizeman, he's been stealing dream energy -"  
  
"This IS straight up out of Sailor Moon!" Elliot laughed, getting back to his feet. "See, little guy, I'd love to sit and joke around, but my friends are somewhere back in that ugly little hallway -"  
  
"Umm - no they're not."  
  
He jolted to a halt. "WHAT?!"  
  
A smirk crept up the Nightopian's face. "They weren't there at all. That was just an illusion to trick you so they could capture your Ideya. Now, are you going to listen to me?"  
  
Elliot sighed again. "Might as well, I've got nothing better to do now."  
  
Tope told him the story behind Wizeman and the Ideya. One of the most bizarre stories Elliot had ever heard. Before Tope could go on to NiGHTS' part, though, Elliot decided he'd had enough. He simply turned and walked away.  
  
"HEY! WAIT! Where ya goin'?"  
  
The little angel fluttered up beside him. "C'mon, we need your help!"  
  
Elliot laughed loudly. "Nope, I need someone's help. A psychiatrist would do great."  
  
Tope's wings bristled. "Don't tell me you have normal dreams all the time."  
  
He lifted his hand to his chin thoughtfully. "That's true. But if it's just a dream, you know what? I'll wake up tomorrow and I'll never see you again. How's that?"   
  
He wandered off again, singing to himself. "In the middle of the night - I go walking in my sleep - to the --- what's that ringing noise? A phone?"   
  
"Yeah. There's a giant phone running around strangling people with it's cord" Tope scoffed. "That makes sense. No, really, we'd better get out of here."  
  
"And I guess THAT makes sense" Elliot shot back, pointing at the alarm egg heading for them.  
  
"RUN FOR IT!"  
  
"What, from that? Please."   
  
He clambered up a hill and cupped his hands around his mouth. "HEY YOU! YEAH YOU!"  
  
Tope slapped his hand to his forehead and sped back towards Elliot.  
  
"-and your mama was nothing but a WATCH! I guess that makes you a watch too!"  
  
The clock started towards him rather furiously. "Ooh, here it comes! The big scary watch! Bring it on, I smash ten alarm clocks every morning! I'll- oh -" he trailed off, then turned towards Tope. "I guess I should have made sure it didn't have a laser beam before I said that, huh?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
The two went screaming off in the other direction. They splashed their way through shallow ponds and hurdled over stone walls and park benches. It was much easier for Elliot, though, and he soon lost the stumbling Nightopian. He noticed, though, that he was still being trailed - by something much bigger. He yelped and tripped as he caught sight of the shadow over him. "Augh! GHOST!"  
  
"~*Kyeer?*~" the shadow questioned.  
  
He blinked and looked again. No, this wasn't one of the ghosts, too tall and too thin. Tinged with purple. That color made him recognize what was hovering there.  
  
"You again? Why are you following me?"  
  
It responded with another string of gibberish. Elliot didn't even bother responding, he just got up and ran away. Tope followed shortly, and then the alarm clock.  
  
NiGHTS caught up with Tope. "Why is he running?"  
  
"I'd say it's because you're a Nightmaren - but he ran away from me, too. I don't think he's taking this seriously. Really, I don't see why he would, what's a dream to a real person?"  
  
"Claris seemed a bit easier to convince -"  
  
"Claris knew what you were saying. This kid doesn't have a Nightmaren translator and he's not going to listen to something little like me. Can't you turn back into your old maren form?"  
  
From NiGHTS' somber glare, he figured that was a bad suggestion. "All right, but there's gotta be something you can do. I mean, there has to be some reason you were the top maren, and I'm not talking about fighting or scaring."  
  
His face lit up. "I just thought of something. Maybe that combination thing will work again."  
  
"Yeah, but you'd have to convince him to try it - I don't think that's the kind of thing you could force onto a person -"  
  
"I wouldn't do that" NiGHTS snipped.  
  
Elliot had stumbled into a dense garden, mostly flowers of any color you could pick out. But the snow-like density of the plants made it difficult to run. He couldn't walk on top of them, but trying to push past them was like trying to walk through his room when his closet door was open.   
  
Something swished in the flowers behind him. He glanced back just in time to see a large wooden pole scoop him from the ground and carry him swiftly over the flowers. Now all he could do was just sit there in confusion.  
  
Looking down, though, he happened to notice that some flowers of the same color were gathered in a 6 shape. Nearby, a 5 shape. He was standing on the hand of a giant clock.  
  
When the hand reached the opposite side of where he had started from, he hopped off the end and started his run again. But where was he going? He didn't know this place. But it was a dream, so he should be able to just wake up -  
  
His foot caught on yet another object lying on the ground, and this time he caught a mouthful of sand. "What is with - aaa!"  
  
He had tripped over a silver egg with faded blue stripes, about the size of a football. He leaped up and set the egg upright again, only to run into another nearby. With another look, he discovered the small sand valley he had wandered into was full of these eggs.   
  
"These are huge -" he observed nervously. "I hope their mama doesn't come back soon -"   
  
"The affection level seems unusually high today" Tope commented.  
  
Elliot jumped about three feet and whirled around. "I didn't touch nothin'!" he yelled.  
  
"Huh? Oh, the eggs. Don't worry, you're supposed to touch them."  
  
"What?"  
  
Tope motioned towards the sky. NiGHTS floated down, landing by the egg that Elliot had fallen on. He examined it, then covered the top with one hand. It started to glow with large, blue-white sparks, and then cracked. Elliot backed away, keeping a sharp eye on the egg.  
  
A bright flash emmited, light reflecting off a brand-new golden halo. The eggshell fell away like snowflakes, landing on sparkling, crystal pink wings and a blueberry uniform.   
  
"()¬ ¬ A - Nightopian -" Elliot mumbled.  
  
"Yeah. This is kind of a nest, you could say. But they don't hatch on their own. They need a certain amount of dream energy."  
  
NiGHTS spoke to him, with an inviting smile, but in Nightmaren. "He wants to know who you are" Tope translated.  
  
"Elliot Edwards. You?"  
  
"I'm Tope, and -"  
  
NiGHTS extended his hand. Elliot stepped forward to shake it.  
  
The next thing he knew he was standing the opposite way he was before. All at once, strange thoughts rushed into his head, things that should not have been there. Most of them were questions, odd, to say the least. He decided to return one.  
  
{What's going on?}  
  
One big question blocked out the other thoughts. {Can you hear me?}  
  
"Yeah-" Elliot started out loud, then clapped his hands to his mouth, his eyes wide.  
  
{Don't be afraid.}  
  
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY VOICE?!" he shrieked. "I sound like a parrot on helium!"  
  
{I did nothing to YOUR voice. That is mine.}  
  
Before Elliot could get a grasp on what he was saying, NiGHTS pushed off into the air, startling any clear thoughts out of him. He sat in stunned silence as they began to soar over the patchy world.   
  
As they did, NiGHTS began to explain to him everything else that had happened so far. He felt remorse from the dreamer. {Oh - I didn't know. I'm sorry I ran like that.}  
  
NiGHTS smiled forgivingly. {Don't worry about it. When you deal with Nightmaren, running is the smart thing to do.}  
  
{But you're not running.}  
  
{I haven't got a choice.}  
  
They plummeted out of the sky, dropping straight down towards a large lake. Elliot flinched as they neared the surface, remembering how shallow the lakes were that he had been chased through. But he couldn't see the bottom of this one.   
  
As they dropped into the mild, clear water, Elliot felt his feet crushing together, then spread out like a fan, and something rising out of his back. "Whoa - what's going on?"  
  
NiGHTS sent him an image. The purple maren, only with a manatee tail instead of feet, and a shark fin. Elliot shrugged. {In a dream, it makes sense.}  
  
{Be on the lookout} NiGHTS instructed, showing him a picture of the Ideya Capture. {We need to find this so we can get your Ideya back. I think it might be under here somewhere.}  
  
They shot through a few sandy caves, the lake floor decorated with patches of neon seaweed and crystalline bubbles. Down and down they went, twisting through tunnel after tunnel of blue until the light faded. It eventually came to the point that NiGHTS was on some kind of night vision, which made Elliot impressed and nervous at the same time. {Two questions -} he started.  
  
NiGHTS answered before he could ask. {There's no water pressure here, and in this form we don't need air. We're perfectly safe.}  
  
{Famous last words.}  
  
NiGHTS had stopped paddling, a bubbly current had picked them up and was rushing them along a narrow cave. He didn't feel that safe anymore, and Elliot picked up on that. {What's up?}  
  
{I - I don't like this tunnel.}  
  
Elliot grinned. {Well, we know that Nightmaren aren't completely not afraid, at least.}  
  
They were suddenly flung out into the air and a little bit of light, slamming into a glass wall, and then a floor. Their feet snapped right back to normal.   
  
"UGH!" Elliot exclaimed, clapping his hands to his face, where he discovered at the moment he didn't have a nose. "You know, for a dream, this sure smells real enough!"  
  
NiGHTS took his hands back and actually sniffed the air. Elliot gagged, intentionally loud. {YOU CRAZY, MAN?}  
  
{I know where we are. Do you recognize the smell?}  
  
{It's like these nasty, burned, two-month-old fish sticks -}  
  
The key word had been fish, according to NiGHTS' mind. NiGHTS directed Elliot's attention to the glass wall in front of them, and to their surroundings. The glass, actually a huge cylinder, was filled with murky periwinkle water and a dark magenta light. The light cast peculiar shadows on the walls in the circular room around them, and inside the cylinder, a loud creaking sound. Neither one of them liked it.  
  
{We shouldn't be here} NiGHTS said. {We'd better find a way out, or -}  
  
They were then yanked from the floor, scooped up by a huge red jaw. Elliot yelled out at the sight of the sharp white teeth. "IT'S GONNA EAT US!"  
  
NiGHTS struggled against the pressure of the upper jaw. {No, it won't, but this fish isn't on our side.}  
  
It carried them to the glass cylinder, then stuck its head inside the tank and spit them out. {This is SICK} Elliot groaned, before he realized he couldn't smell the fish stench anymore. {We'd better have some kind of deodorant before we get out of here -}  
  
{IF we get out of here.}  
  
{You're a real piece of sunshine, you know that?}  
  
The magenta light was stronger, but they still couldn't see their own hand in front of their face. But they were certain something else was in there, because the water shifted around them, rippling up towards the top of the tank. NiGHTS' heart rate jumped up about twenty times just before he zoomed to the other side of the water.   
  
{What was that?}  
  
A wash of water pushed them further back, telling Elliot that something rather large had just barely missed them. He got a picture from NiGHTS, an unbelievably hideous fish. It was blue, the exact color of the tank water, with huge, crazy-looking eyes, giant yellow spikes, a tiny tail and a toothy grin. The side flippers were longer than a normal fish's, with claws jutting out the ends. {Is that a Nightmaren?}  
  
NiGHTS began to shoot off the information he had. {Second level Nightmaren Gulpo, fish-type, confined since creation for-}  
  
{Great, how are we supposed to fight it if we can't see it!}  
  
{There are other senses than sight.}  
  
A rumbling roar rattled the glass, and an electric crackle came from above them as the magenta light flared. {My senses tell me that's not a good thing, because last time I heard, water conducts electricity!}  
  
{I can't see him, but maybe I've got something that will make that insignificant -}  
  
NiGHTS shot off again, following the edge of the tank in a dizzying circle. Elliot wanted to close his eyes, but NiGHTS needed at least a little sight to get where he was going. Their feet crushed even tighter, twirling them around in a mini tornado.  
  
They hit the side of the tank at breakneck speed, ricocheting off the sides like a screensaver ball with a rocket. The glass finally crumbled under the pressure, shattering away as Gulpo shrieked loudly. Elliot got a real glimpse of the fish this time, with a giant hole in its side. It floated to the bottom of the tank and faded, a spark in its place. 


	7. The Consciousness

NiGHTS Into Dreams  
Chapter 7 - The Consciousness  
  
~*Notes*~  
OK, this time it's not actually writer's block to blame. Well, half of it is. The other half is a result of my own disorganized self. ^_^() I lost the new notes explaining the chapter backgrounds! I couldn't figure out how the title related to the chapter. Fortunetely, the notes happened to pop up in a frantic search for a school paper.  
  
;_; I'm not particularily happy with this chapter, either. But I've let it sit around too long.  
  
All right, next chapter will be out before August.   
  
Whirlwynd) - meaning it will be up July 31 at 11:59 pm.  
  
Cerulean) -_- Quiet, you.  
  
That's all. Enjoy! ^_^   
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
The chatter of screechy third-level Nightmaren was quieted by a horrible sound, claws scratching on stone. Only for a second, though, most were much more fearful of what they had seen about an hour earlier than the irritated maren in front of them.   
  
"What are we gonna do?!"  
  
"He took out Guardian Gulpo in one strike!"  
  
"Where is Wizeman?"  
  
"I'VE HAD ENOUGH!" Jackle screamed.   
  
Now the room fell dead silent. A card came out of nowhere, striking a swordfish-like maren and jamming into the floor, splitting the creature in half. The others scattered away.   
  
"This is just one stupid maren! Against all of us! If we all go out like we did before, he won't stand a chance."  
  
"Wizeman would have given the order if he thought it would work."  
  
Reala flipped down from the ceiling, where he had been keeping a close eye on the chaos. "But he does have a point. There is no need to panic."  
  
Jackle didn't seem to take Reala's defense well. He shoved the rest of the cards back into his cape and trudged across the room. "There's no need to panic, but sitting around here and doing nothing about it is just as bad!"  
  
"He will give us the order" Reala replied firmly.  
  
His calm persistence only fed to Jackle's growing rage. The hundreds of eyes in the room were locked on the two high-level maren, the silence so unnerving for some of the minions that they raced for the exits.   
  
Jackle was about to head out as well. He wasn't going to argue with Reala about orders and such, after all, he might have technically been a lower rank, but before NiGHTS turned on them, they were exactly the same. It wasn't his fault Reala was stubborn. He started down the hall.   
  
"Don't even think about it" Reala warned.  
  
Jackle's eyes darkened threateningly under the edge of his hat, and he whirled to face him. "Or what? You're going to fight us? You're going to turn on us too?"  
  
That was crossing the line. The other maren barely saw Reala's claw slice through the air before Jackle reeled backwards, screeching. "You're the traitor if you go under what Wizeman says."  
  
Jackle peered through the fingers of his loose gloves, and that sly, sharp smirk carved through the shadows once more. "Not if I bring the first one back with me."  
  
Before Reala could protest, he had sailed out. Reala didn't follow. Instead, he pulled the card out of the floor that had cut the miniature swordfish. "I don't think he wants that back-" one of the third-levels said timidly.  
  
"You assume that's he'll back at all" the older maren said icily, slowly tearing the card in two. Several shrieking spirits twisted out of the rip and off into the air.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
A crossing bell shook a thick layer of snow off of it as it began to chime furiously, its blinking red light greeting the tiny yellow train passing by. Nightopians clung to the noisy cars, hoping to get further up the hill to take a look at the amazing ice crystals jutting out of the distant water. The soft pastel glows under some of the snow formations made them seem more that giant quartzes. The pine trees growing up the hills seemed unusually strong for the amount of snow on their branches.  
  
A Nightopian latched onto Elliot's leg, trying to get into the car with he was sharing with NiGHTS and Tope. It was struck off by a bar they passed. "Can't these guys just fly? This train is too small for all of them to ride -"  
  
"That one didn't have any wings" Tope pointed out.  
  
"Huh. I didn't notice. But there's not as many of them here as there were in the last place."  
  
"Well, for one, the last place had a nest - but not here, it's too cold."  
  
"What's the other reason? Is there a monster out in that lake or something?"  
  
NiGHTS and Tope looked at each other. "Something like that - but the 'monster' we're thinking of might know where to find the Ideya Capture."  
  
"Aww, no" Elliot groaned. "Please don't tell me we have to go find another fish -"  
  
"Not this time. We are looking for Jackle, one of the top Nightmaren in all nightmares. But we have to be careful and approach him from dreams, because his status doesn't lie. He's very dangerous."  
  
"How's that? It's just a dream."  
  
NiGHTS gave him an annoyed stare.  
  
"Hehe - um -- sorry."  
  
"He's a magician."  
  
"Huh? Like those stupid party tricks or like movie super attack stuff?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What?"  
  
NiGHTS didn't say anything further. Elliot shrugged and turned to Tope. "Do you think this Capture thing's here?"  
  
"Jackle might know."  
  
"So what, we're just gonna go in there and ask him?"  
  
"What's this 'we' stuff?" the little angel burst out. "I'm not going in there! I've had enough of Nightmaren for one night!"  
  
Behind their small argument, NiGHTS' mind was working away. Why couldn't he remember where the Capture was? It would make things a whole lot easier. It wasn't his job to feed it, that was left up to the third-levels. What if they had moved it to the nightmares?  
  
'No, that can't be' he recalled. 'They need sunlight to grow properly.'  
  
A second nagging thought picked at his mind, too. What if he didn't know how to use the ring and sub-crystals properly? He hadn't used these kinds of items in a while. Most magic he had done, if any, was based off his own energy. For this, he had to get the two items to cooperate with him.   
  
"You're the one that should go after him! You know these dreams better, you live here!"  
  
"Nonono, see, that's why YOU should go. You can't get hurt here, and I can."  
  
They heard NiGHTS sigh deeply. "Stop it."  
  
"I'm serious. I'm not going with you. What can I do?" Tope said.  
  
"He's right. He'd only cause trouble" Elliot agreed.  
  
"Jackle may be dangerous" NiGHTS replied quietly. "-but he's not the one I'm worried about."  
  
The air around them seemed to cool very quickly. Elliot wondered if he was talking about Wizeman, but he got the feeling, from that somber stare, that there was something else, something deeper to it.  
  
They lurched towards the front of the car as the train screeched to a stop at a station, near the edge of a steep cliff. A group of Nightopians rummaged through the snow. One of them popped another with a snowball. A couple were building a snowman at least twice their height. Tope waved at them. "I'll be back. Maybe if they know something about the Ideya Capture, we won't have to go chasing these Nightmaren."  
  
The Nightopians seemed more interested in throwing snowballs at Tope than talking to him, but he eventually got them to listen. Elliot saw him squeak at them, and their little head shake back and forth simultaneously. He laughed quietly as he compared them to a box of peach crayons.  
  
They did look like toys, though, and quite a bit more fragile. Like those old dolls his mom used to store in glass shelves. She was very watchful of them and scolded Elliot everytime he came in the same room with his basketball.   
  
He then glanced at NiGHTS. At first, he had thought him not much different than the Nightopians he had met. Bright clothes, big eyes, just plain weird. But after examining those cheerful little creatures, the maren sitting next him seemed out of place. There was an weighted shadow around him. His listless violet eyes tried to hide something. Scars. They were as successful at hiding pain as a twig hiding a car.   
  
As if he could sense Elliot prying into his mind, NiGHTS flicked his head away. Elliot decided to say something. "What's wrong with you? Something with those nightmares?"  
  
NiGHTS resumed his original position of looking at his feet, but still didn't speak. Elliot shook his head and turned back to Tope. So what if the guy was upset? As far as Elliot was concerned, NiGHTS was only a figment of his imagination. Maybe he would wake up soon. Then he could forget all about this crazy place and the disfigured angels and that fish smell that still hadn't gone away -  
  
But when he was awake - the game. The game was still on tomorrow. His face suddenly became as downcast as NiGHTS'. He had hoped he could forget the whole thing in his sleep. Stupid ghosts. Why'd they have to bring all that back up?  
  
He kicked the side of the car impatiently. It gave him a musical clang. "When's this thing gonna move again?"  
  
Again, NiGHTS was silent. But Elliot's eye was drawn elsewhere. A tiny object hovered by his shoe, sparkling green and rotating under a detached pair of pink wings. Some kind of token or coin. He leaned over, making sure NiGHTS hadn't seen it, and stuffed it in one of his pockets. The wings vanished.  
  
Just then a chorus of screams erupted from the Nightopian group. They scattered like pigeons, some of them heading back towards the train.  
  
Seconds later, everything in their vision was swallowed up by a frigid crystal fog. Elliot jumped off the car, but was stopped in his tracks. The mist seeped into his lungs, burning his throat and throwing him into a coughing fit. "What - is this?!" he managed.  
  
Through the shapes of panicking Nightopians he could see another short pudgy shape. It bounded around, landing very close by. As it did, the fog disappated.  
  
It was a Nightmaren, something that looked like a snowball with a bird's beak, talons, and rainbow socks stuck to it. Its yellow-orange eyes stared hungrily at the object in front of it - a Nightopian swallowed by a block of ice.  
  
Elliot's eyes flew wide open. "NiGHTS! Dude, we gotta help that -"  
  
Silence.  
  
"C'mon, man, do some of that rocket-flying stuff! You can take the furball!"  
  
The moment he turned his eyes back, he could tell that the mist had affected NiGHTS as well - but in a much different way. His eyes remained dark, but had shifted to a thick, eerie blue. A smile crept up his face. Nothing like the ones he had before - this was bone-chilling, malicious. Stunned, Elliot backed away.  
  
The little Nightmaren pounced on the ice block. Elliot whirled just in time to see it drill its beak in the ice. With a sharp flick, the Nightopian was sucked up and was gone.  
  
"What - ?"  
  
Elliot gulped. "They eat Nightopians?"  
  
The feeling boiled away as rage shuddered through him. He growled, then rushed at the Nightmaren.  
  
"You're goin' down ya overgrown snow-mosquito!"  
  
Before the creature saw him coming, Elliot had tackled it to the ground. A sudden burst of light shot through NiGHTS' gem, jerking him out of his motionless state. "Elliot, get away from it!"  
  
He was already crushing the maren into the snow. NiGHTS drill-dashed, knocking the maren out of he hands and off into the distance. He stopped just short of Elliot.  
  
Elliot, however, was not happy to see him. He shoved him down into the snow. "WHY DIDN'T YOU DO THAT BEFORE?!" he shouted.  
  
"Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?" NiGHTS shouted back. "They're after you!"  
  
"So what?! This is a dream, remember? I can't get hurt!"  
  
NiGHTS closed his eyes, searching for a response. Elliot didn't wait for one. "You know, I thought you were supposed to be a good guy -"  
  
He trudged off through the thick snow. NiGHTS flipped into the air and landed in front of him. "You don't understand."  
  
"Get out of the way. I'm sorry I tried to help. Then again, I won't be tomorrow, will I?"  
  
He tried to step by. NiGHTS clamped his wrist. "Yes, you will be."  
  
"Let go!"  
  
Elliot twisted his arm and tried to jerk away, but could not pull out of the maren's grasp. He was feeling the cold of the dream now, a sickening chill seeping inside of him - no, this was from NiGHTS. Something was happening to him.   
  
And then, he was alone.  
  
Through the sudden darkness her could hear shrieking. A chorus of human voices plagued with terror, twining with the savage screams of something not human at all. Rubble poured from the sky, from the dark, silent buildings he knew very well. An ominous green light spewed from the tallest one.  
  
All at once, the dark shade fell away. He found himself facing NiGHTS once again. He was trembling, his eyes a bland violet. He looked just like Elliot felt at the moment. Even though that vision had only been for a few seconds, he could honestly say he had never felt that frightened before in his life.  
  
"What was that?" Elliot gasped.  
  
"A nightmare" NiGHTS said weakly. "Do you want that to become your reality?"  
  
"No! Who would?"  
  
"Then you are conscious of the danger -"  
  
NiGHTS collapsed onto the snow. Elliot scrambled to help him up. "Hey! You OK?"  
  
"Summoning nightmares was supposed to be out of my power -"  
  
"What are you doing?" Tope interrupted. "They haven't seen anything. That's train's about to leave, so let's go!"  
  
"The clock" NiGHTS said, rising unsteadily to his feet. "It's close by."  
  
"Umm - OK, no problem. Just do the combination thing."  
  
"I don't think I can."  
  
The ringing was audible over the crossing bells now. NiGHTS limped away across the train tracks, to the opposite of where the group of Nightopians had been. "This way."  
  
Elliot's heart leapt into his throat as he saw where he was headed. "Whoa! No! A cliff?"  
  
"It's our only way out."  
  
"I can't fly!"  
  
"That's not what I had in mind. See down there?"  
  
NiGHTS pointed down to something beyond the ledge. Elliot leaned forward. "I don't -"  
  
A hard shove from behind sent him over the edge.  
  
Everything around him was a blur of white and blue. He was facing down, but he didn't know where the ground was.   
  
'Why aren't I scared - ?'  
  
He didn't feel an ounce of fear, in fact, he was quite comfortable. Like he wasn't falling, he was flying like NiGHTS had been in the other dream.   
  
He smashed into something, but amazingly, he wasn't tumbling down the side of some eighty-nine degree slope. He was flying smoothly over the surface, sitting in a large purple box.  
  
"Where'd this come from?" he wondered aloud, shifting to get a better look at it.  
  
"Hey, sit down back there!"  
  
"NiGHTS?!"  
  
Elliot plunked back down in his place. 'Strange is an understatement here. First I'm being chased by a flying clock, then a fish and some cranky angel, and now we got nightmares that combine with people and double as sleds! What next?'  
  
"I thought your energy was drained!" he shouted to NiGHTS. "How can you do this?"  
  
"Shifting doesn't take up as much energy! But for some reason, when you fell, all that energy came back!"  
  
"So what, I'm bad luck?"  
  
"No, it's something different -"  
  
The two blazed through the ice, barely avoiding pine trees and shaking them out of their heavy snow blankets. A small group of Nightopians building a snowman dived for cover, shaking their little fists as the sled went by.  
  
The hill leveled out and made a small upward curve, flinging them high in the air. Elliot was being pulled back, drawn into the reformed NiGHTS. Tope caught up a minute later.   
  
"Why don't you ever warn me when you're gonna do crazy things like that?!" he screeched.  
  
{NiGHTS, I'd appreciate that warning next time, too -}  
  
"Sorry" NiGHTS shrugged. "I thought surprise was necessary."  
  
"It's you and your Nightmaren ar- what in Nightopia is that?"  
  
"What?"  
  
Tope gestured to an flat, empty snow plain in front of them. "It's called a field" Elliot said.  
  
"I know that! There's something down there!"  
  
Elliot felt NiGHTS' heart skip a beat. {He's right. There's a nightmare presence.}  
  
They inched closer, and onto the plain, scanning every visible part of the snow. Tope, however, was focused on one space. "Here."  
  
From this angle, there was something out of place. A large portion of the snow was dark, almost silver, with a shiny quality to it rather than sparkling like the snow. {Hold on} NiGHTS told Elliot.  
  
{To what?}  
  
Without another word, NiGHTS plunged into the snow and burrowed alongside the plastic-like substance they had discovered. The soft ground made way for an open area, with a narrow opening to the side, where light was pouring out. NiGHTS had difficulty squeezing through. {It's another half-nightmare -}  
  
{How can something be a half-night -}  
  
{He's here!}  
  
The place didn't seem like a nightmare to Elliot, in fact, the intense color of the room cheered him up immensely. The floor, made of card-symbol tiles, was littered with toys just about his height. Florescent lasers crossed the ceiling. {This place would be an awesome nightclub -}  
  
{A - what? There's no time for that! Jackle's here somwhere.}  
  
{I dunno, maybe he just wants to play a game or something. We'll have to re-make Space Jam.}  
  
NiGHTS' mind fogged with a baffled violet, so Elliot kept his own quiet.  
  
Suddenly there was a slight gust, and the top of NiGHTS' sleeve split. He sprang back and off the ground.   
  
Piercing laughter seemed to come from every angle. NiGHTS glanced around, unable to determine the origin. {What just did that?}  
  
They drifted down to the glassy floor, where a large, wobbling object was stuck. {That.}  
  
{But what is it?}  
  
{One of Jackle's cards.}  
  
{Cards? CARDS? That ain't a card! That's like a patio door!}  
  
A shadow fell over them. NiGHTS scrambled out of the way as the floor jolted, nearly tripping him up. A yellow sheet swept the ground behind them.  
  
{That's him} NiGHTS told Elliot, backing up.  
  
{WHAT?!} Elliot shrunk as he saw the faceless glare of the cackling maren in front of him. {He's twice our size!}  
  
{That never mattered before.}  
  
{So - you going to ask him about the Capture or what?}  
  
"I'm almost surprised you could get in here," Jackle said. "Well, all for the better. I don't have to go chasing you out in the snow."  
  
NiGHTS remained quiet, unusually alert from Elliot's view. Elliot didn't blame him at all, from the look of this guy, he was hiding a lot of dangerous possibilities.   
  
{The Capture} he pressed.  
  
{I don't know what I was thinking. He won't tell the truth.}  
  
{Then why are we still here?!}  
  
{Good question.}  
  
Jackle's grin disappeared as he looked beyond NiGHTS. "Reala! You're not supposed to be here!"  
  
{Reala -}  
  
NiGHTS whirled around. {Wait, who's Reala?} Elliot questioned as he felt NiGHTS' mind prickle. {I don't see anyone.}  
  
{I don't either -}  
  
A slicing, paralyzing pain twisted him back towards Jackle with a cry. "I can't believe you fell for that! What a loser!"  
  
He pulled a card deck out of his cape, and hurled them their way. NiGHTS zigzagged in the air to get out of their way, and pulled the first one out of his shoulder. This time Elliot was the one yelling. "Why am I feeling this?! This is a dream!"  
  
{It's not actually hurting you.}  
  
{What about you?}  
  
{Never mind! We've got to get out!}  
  
"Where are you going? You can't leave."  
  
A rain of cards flew in from of them, blocking off the opening they were heading for.   
  
"Ohhh, no. You're never leaving the nightmares again."  
  
They turned back. {This is getting annoying.}  
  
{We have to fight him.}  
  
{You'd better know what you're doing!}  
  
Just then, the light around the half-nightmare faded. They could no longer see the snow through the openings around the bottom of the dome. It wasn't long before the walls had gone as well. "What is this?" NiGHTS demanded.  
  
"I'd think you'd recognize a nightmare when you saw one."  
  
{I thought you couldn't go into nightmares} Elliot said.  
  
{THIS isn't the nightmare. That shadow is} NiGHTS turned all the way around. {He was waiting for us.}  
  
"You know, I can stop all this" Jackle told them. "I might even let you go - if you give me the red Ideya."  
  
"You've got to be kidding me" Elliot chuckled.  
  
{Elliot -} NiGHTS said anxiously.  
  
Jackle's eyes flickered to NiGHTS'. "Oh, the dreamer decides to speak."  
  
"Yeah. So?"  
  
"You'd better listen then. You may be able to escape the nightmares in one piece, but your purple guardian here can't. Keep that Ideya to yourself, and - well, I hope NiGHTS likes being one-dimensional."  
  
{DON'T listen to him} NiGHTS warned.   
  
{What, is he lying again?}  
  
There was hesistation. {He isn't? Haha. I don't think so NiGHTS. You're not pulling that "you run and I'll hold them off" routine.}  
  
{No} he replied with a great amount of sadness. {I can't force you away. It is your Ideya, you choose. But I don't think you should give it away for my safety.}  
  
The nightmare was a few yards behind Jackle and closing fast. Elliot could feel it tearing through the air, hear it rumbling as the room was forced into transformation. {But -}  
  
{Choose. Hurry.}  
  
Elliot wanted to get out. He was trying his hardest to hide that from NiGHTS, though. They hadn't been in the dream long, but because of that melding he knew as much as he would have if he had known the maren for years.   
  
He pulled the coin he had picked up by the tracks. Maybe flipping it could help him decide. He was just about to toss it when NiGHTS mind started again. {Where did you get that?!}  
  
{I found it by -}  
  
{Never mind! This is our way out!}  
  
The coin burst into green lasers, zooming up the nightmare walls and bouncing off the ceiling and floor. Elliot watched the glimmering lights in amazement. They wound around in jagged patterns, like they were caught in a maze, before collecting in NiGHTS' gem. His body was covered in a green aura.  
  
"What are -" Jackle began, startled.  
  
Green and violet filled the room as NiGHTS did exactly what the lasers did before. Everything became a blur to Elliot, all he could hear was the whining of a drill, angry screaming, and finally a light that blanked out anything he could see. 


	8. The Revival

Update June 21, 2004  
  
It's been nearly two years since I put this chapter up and much has changed, but this fic is not dead!  
  
I could give all the excuses in the world for why it hasn't been finished, but the major thing has been that I have not been inspired enough to finish it, and when I don't feel motivated, I don't write well. Actually, I haven't been up to much fanfic in general, instead focusing on original projects.  
  
I said I would finish it and I meant it. However, Chapter 9 probably won't be put up for a while longer. I will set a deadline, July 26.  
  
In the meantime, it is being turned into a comic. I haven't made up a page for it yet, but it updates infrequently on my DeviantArt page ( http:whirlwynd.deviantart.com )  
  
NiGHTS Into Dreams  
  
Chapter 8 The Revival  
  
Notes  
  
It's done. Again, I'm not that happy with it, but you knew I was going to say that, right? Still better than the first draft, though, so I'm not complaining - () Hey, at least the end battle is longer than half a page -  
  
The green and gold explosion had been seen everywhere in dreams. The light flowed through the Spring Valley sky, weaving into the crystal clouds. Rays leaked through the dense Mystic Forest cover. Nightopians in the Soft Museum scrambled for the buildings, and panicked even more when the doors would not open for them.  
  
And in nightmares, the light reflected on a pair of cold blue eyes.  
  
The flame inside the checkerboarded bowl torch roared and reached for the ceiling, like long green arms trying to reach out of a trap. Reala pushed it away. It floated through the air as if it was in a placid stream.  
  
"Everyone is going insane," he muttered. "All because of him. It's all falling apart."  
  
A second torch drifted by, flaring up like the first as soon as it came close to him. "We've never been so close before. Why would he give something he worked for hundreds of years to achieve in a second?"  
  
He glanced down to the mist, where not long ago Claris had vanished into a deeper sleep. If the girl had the courage Ideya, she had either hidden it well, or it was too weak to help them anyway.  
  
"Reala, leave the Ideya for now."  
  
One of Wizeman's hands appeared in front of him. "NiGHTS is too close to the Capture. He must be stopped right away."  
  
A third torch let off a green roar.  
  
"This is the time to prove to me you are worthy of your position. Finish him and get that Ideya from the boy."  
  
Reala left without hesitation.  
  
{The sun is so bright} Elliot complained.  
  
The sun of this dry dream was indeed very bright - the sky was almost cloudless. The bronze rock, patched with small cacti and metal plates and mesh, reflected the sunlight back up at them. NiGHTS had directed them to some kind of tower in the distance. From where they were, Elliot was nervous of the thought of being around it. It was the flimsiest building (if it could be called that) he had seen. He had asked NiGHTS if there were guidewires on it, and received several questions in return.  
  
{It's not the sun, it's my eyes. But the Capture has to be here} NiGHTS told him. {We should be able to find it from the top of that tower.}  
  
{I know! You said that a hundred times already!}  
  
Tope fluttered ahead of them, silently, still thinking about that last nightmare. It was very fortunate that Elliot had picked up that token, but what if he hadn't? What if a stronger Nightmaren arrived, one that NiGHTS couldn't handle? After all, he had already been imprisoned once. Where would dreams go?  
  
They passed a group of Nightopians who were poking at some of the mesh. One took out a small hammer and pounded as hard as its little arms would allow. They soon scattered as another one whooshed by on an out-of-control jackhammer. And as much as Elliot was laughing at them, Tope began to wish that, maybe, he could be one of them again -  
  
"What are they doing?" Elliot managed.  
  
{Stick Canyon used to have a city. But it was leveled - and -}  
  
Elliot sensed NiGHTS was leaving something out, but couldn't find out what it was.  
  
{-now the Nightopians have a revival project going on. They usually don't organize like that, though, so as you can see, it's moving pretty slowly -}  
  
{Did they build that tower?}  
  
{No. That was built by dreamers, like yourself. The Nightopians can't fly that high.}  
  
{Why does it look so weak?}  
  
Images of Ideya floated by NiGHTS' mind, followed by a twinge of remorse.  
  
{Oh, yeah. Right.}  
  
Tope's scream interrupted the conversation. They had passed a minature crane, moving, but with no one at the controls. The hook had swiped by and plucked Tope out of the air.  
  
"At least those other Nightopians pretend to know what they're doing -" Elliot chuckled.  
  
"Shut it" Tope grunted as NiGHTS detached the hook from the back of his collar.  
  
Suddenly, he froze, his eyes wide and stinging from the light. He didn't notice, but Elliot did.  
  
{That hurts! What are you -}  
  
The chill that had halted NiGHTS went through Elliot as well, cutting him off. {What is that - ?} he pressed.  
  
{He's here.}  
  
{Who's here?}  
  
NiGHTS bolted away. Elliot yelped in surprise and tried to focus as everything around him became a blue and orange blur. {You gonna fill me in or what?!}  
  
Nothing. The frenzied maren hung low to the ground, swerving around rocks and giant bolts sticking up, flying faster and faster until they smashed right into something, as Elliot was expecting the whole time. "Ow!" he rubbed his head. "Are you done running yet? Can you -"  
  
The thing they ran into decided to run into them, scooping them from the ground and hauling them off almost as fast as NiGHTS had been flying. He saw a rail above their heads.  
  
"This is craz - AAAAAAA!"  
  
The rail shot them straight down and through a spiral. As many times as he had flown, NiGHTS found it strange to have the sky and the ground rushing by his feet at the same time. He tilted his head to the side, and found they were caught on a flat metal piece. It finished the spiral and whisked them into a chasm.  
  
"AWESOME!" Elliot yelled. "Why didn't you tell me there were rollercoasters in here?"  
  
{You're ENJOYING this?!}  
  
"Yeah, what's wrong? Don't like coasters?"  
  
{Just that wall we're about to splattered across.}  
  
"What wall - AUGH!"  
  
NiGHTS waited until they were close, then flew the little piece upside-down. It narrowly missed the wall and reached the end of the rail, flinging the two riders off into the air.  
  
{That was all? Aww, man -}  
  
{That was a trap!}  
  
{Hey, that tower's right there -}  
  
Tope, suprisingly, was right behind them this time. "We'll need that view after we just flew by everything. NiGHTS, what is your problem?"  
  
"You're getting faster -"  
  
"Is that a problem?"  
  
"NiGHTS said, 'He's here'" Elliot piped up.  
  
At this, NiGHTS shot up the side of the tower. "Who's here?!"  
  
As they passed a cone hovering in mid-air, it lit up with a hoarse buzzing. NiGHTS tensed again, his eyes wary and wavering around the air above them.  
  
Boulders began to rain down. NiGHTS wove around the tower, spiraling up and up as fast as he could without running into them. He almost hit one when Elliot started to pull back. {Stop that! What are you doing?}  
  
{Dude, you're going too fast! You're gonna hit one of those things!}  
  
{If we can't cooperate, I'm going to have to leave you on the ground.}  
  
{Nono, don't - but how come you get to make all the decisions?}  
  
{You don't get hurt if we mess up - we need to get up there before -} NiGHTS paused.  
  
{Before what? This tower IS gonna fall, isn't it?!}  
  
NiGHTS responded by using his drill dash to climb the rest of the way, and stopped at a platform on the top. "This is good."  
  
{NiGHTS - ?}  
  
"I don't see anything from here."  
  
{I do.}  
  
Something grumbled off to their left.  
  
A strange object floated off to their left. A crystal ball, glowing softly, on top of a striped, rotating claw. It was twice their size, Elliot could feel heat coming off of it and rainbow swirls of light moving inside. And though the claw looked quite threatening, both of them got a sudden burst of energy.  
  
"I never felt like this -" Elliot breathed. "Like I could do anything -"  
  
"This is the Ideya Capture. Inside lies what remains of thousands of stolen dreams."  
  
NiGHTS picked up a pentagon coin hovering in front of the Capture, and pulled out the sub-crystal and ring.  
  
{I just hope we can survive this.}  
  
{WHAT?!}  
  
{Kidding.}  
  
He didn't sound like he was kidding.  
  
There was a shift in him, in his mind and body, that Elliot could feel. Most of this strange shifting was in his hands, though, as they started to glow along with the objects. The hoop became a ring of blue and yellow balls.  
  
He threw the ring in the air and flew straight up through it. It closed on him, catching at his feet, and began to form a flat yellow streak on their path. He circled the capture, following the end of the ribbon-like streak until he touched the end with his hands.  
  
The Capture rumbled again, then quaked and cracked. Threads of light shot out from the inside, followed by a few Ideya, and then an explosion.  
  
At first, there was only this magenta silence in front of him. Nothing but this bright, burning mist, so thick he couldn't even tell if he was with NiGHTS anymore.  
  
No - he was there. He wouldn't have been floating off the floor like this if he wasn't. But why was NiGHTS so quiet? His thoughts, even his feelings, they just didn't exist. Was he still alive? It seemed so, he was still breathing. Maybe if he went up he could get out of this fog -  
  
{DON'T MOVE}  
  
NiGHTS' voice startled him. He almost yelled out. {There you are! What is going on?}  
  
{Nightmare} he replied, shortly and quietly.  
  
{But you said you couldn't go -}  
  
NiGHTS' heart lurched as he looked up. The lights Elliot had seen taken from him were now hovering around, along with the faint red one. {These are my Ideya, then -}  
  
A voice called out, a powerful, distorted voice that grated on Elliot's ears. Just the sound made his mind scream out in pain, as if it was being twisted and crushed, but he bit his tongue. And through it all, just before NiGHTS dropped him, he could fell something from the maren. A fearful rage.  
  
The mist in front of them began to clear. Elliot could make out a figure, at least two feet taller than he was, but humanoid. He could also see NiGHTS now, feet flat on the ground, his face with a stoniness Elliot had not seen yet in him. As the mist thinned and almost vanished, they could finally see the figure in front of them clearly.  
  
"NiGHTS - he looks like -" Elliot whispered.  
  
He was unable to finish. The mere presence of this maren was already overwhelming him, his heart raced, his mind a flurry. Everything about him shivered at the sight of those frigid, vicious eyes. 'What is wrong with me?!' he thought, touching one hand to his head. 'Who is that?'  
  
"So you've finally come back to us," the grating voice said again.  
  
Elliot clapped both hands to his ears, but could still hear the sound echoing around the arena that had become clear through the mist. The floor was plastered with a checkerboard pattern, in the middle of the arena, a chair high above the ground. Three spiky torches hovered around the chair, alight with green flame. Beyond that, he could only see stormy clouds and silhouettes, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know what was out there.  
  
"Not by choice," NiGHTS replied.  
  
Though he didn't want to hear the voice again, Elliot decided to speak up. "Who are you?"  
  
"Didn't he tell you about me?" the maren was surprised. "No? My name is Reala."  
  
"This is that guy that other Nightmaren was talking about?"  
  
"This is the most dangerous maren in nightmares," NiGHTS replied, keeping his eyes firmly on Reala. "My counterpart, Reala."  
  
"That title used to belong to you, you know. It's a shame things had to turn out this way.  
  
"Who says the title still doesn't belong to me?" NiGHTS pushed up into the air. "I've taken out all the first-levels except for you. You want to push your luck?"  
  
"NiGHTS, NiGHTS," Reala shook his head and floated up with him. "Even if you were to defeat Wizeman himself, the nightmares would build right up from where they started. After all, we aren't just creatures of magic. We are born of the terror and despair of every one of those humans that you've taken a dream - a life from. And in their world, there will ALWAYS be terror and despair. We can be revived easily."  
  
He studied NiGHTS for a moment. "Now, enlighten me - why would a creature of nightmares turn on those who intend to expand his power?"  
  
"I don't believe that anymore."  
  
"What? You're not a Nightmaren anymore?" Reala burst out in forced laughter. "Don't be stupid."  
  
"And don't play your mind games with me!" NiGHTS snapped. "I will never fight for nightmares again!"  
  
"Why?"  
  
A simple, sincere question was rare from Reala, but NiGHTS was growing impatient. "We've done what we came for. We've released the Ideya and you can't get them back. Goodbye, Reala, we're leaving."  
  
"I don't think I can-" Reala brandished his claws. "You see, one of my first duties as second-in-command is to eliminate the former one, so letting you go would be a problem -"  
  
"Is that what you want."  
  
"Yes. One more match, just you, without the dreamer."  
  
"NiGHTS!" Elliot hissed. "What if he comes after me? I mean, it's not like I can't fight, but this guy -"  
  
NiGHTS looked around, then glared at Reala. "As long as you don't lay a finger on Elliot."  
  
"Of course not. Not until this is done."  
  
They both blasted off, too quickly for Elliot to follow. The arena instantly became a mess of gray and violet blurs, rocketing sparks and vacuum explosions. One of the explosions sent both blurs crashing to the ground, the gray one right through one of those torches hovering above. It burst like a firework.  
  
Back up in the air again, the two maren charged at each other, locking onto each other's wrists in attempt to throw the other back to the ground. "You can't win this -" Reala said. "Before, we were matched, but you're a child now. You may as well let me take your spirit spark now and save yourself some strain -"  
  
NiGHTS growled and pushed away. Both came back at each other with a drill dash. NiGHTS was pushed back, but managed to regain his balance quickly and smashed into Reala with a drill kick. He retaliated by clawing at NiGHTS' face and punching him away.  
  
"Hey loser!" Elliot yelled.  
  
Reala glanced at him, just enough time for NiGHTS to punch him squarly in the face and nearly knock out another torch.  
  
"Haha, you looked -"  
  
"Tell that dreamer of yours to shut his mouth and stop interfering," Reala seethed, "or he'll never have another peaceful night's sleep again."  
  
"Elliot, stay out of it!" NiGHTS ordered.  
  
Elliot kicked the ground. "You're welcome."  
  
Once again, the fight had become too fast for him to see. He watched, on the defensive - until he heard ringing.  
  
"NiGHTS!" Elliot called. "HEY! There's one of those clocks over there!"  
  
NiGHTS didn't look at Elliot or the clock, which was slowly making its way across the arena, but he caught Reala's arm. "You said you would leave him alone."  
  
"Yes, I did, didn't I? And I am. Unfortunetely, I don't speak for Wizeman himself. I believe the agreement only said I wouldn't lay a finger on him."  
  
He quickly circled Reala, causing another explosion. Reala was tossed right into another torch. This time he yelled out. Once again, Elliot's hands flew to his ears.  
  
NiGHTS swooped down by him. With this closer view, Elliot could see that in that short time, he had already take a lot of damage. "Get out of here!" NiGHTS demanded.  
  
"But you're -"  
  
"I said GO!"  
  
NiGHTS was suddenly slammed into the ground, startling Elliot into a run.  
  
He clambered up a steep wall and over the edge of the arena, where he found more walls. He stared up. "Oh, that's just great -"  
  
The ends of the a claw dug into NiGHTS' collar, the hand keeping him pinned on the ground. Reala stood over him, gasping for air. The coldness in his eyes had turned to a fiery blue rage. "I think - we're about even, without those two torches," NiGHTS said.  
  
Reala slashed him in the face with his free claw and tightened the other hand's grip. "Why did you do this?" he snarled. "Why did you destroy everything we've worked for? WHY?"  
  
NiGHTS only stared at him.  
  
"Tell me!" Reala screamed.  
  
Again, the blank stare. Reala buried his claw into NiGHTS' shoulder, raising a pained howl. "I can keep this up until you give me an answer" he threatened.  
  
"You wouldn't understand," NiGHTS replied at last.  
  
"Wrong answer."  
  
This time Reala hit just below NiGHTS' gem. His eyes flew open, he choked back another cry as he reached for the pentagon coin.  
  
"Now, TELL ME!"  
  
"It's - just as simple as that," he said weakly. "You wouldn't understand. Not as a creature of terror and despair. I'm sorry, Reala."  
  
Abruptly, Reala let go of NiGHTS and stepped back. "You just said -"  
  
The pink coin disappeared into sparks. The sparks flew up around the remaining torch and glowed, then exploded like the paraloops before. Reala cried out before his eyes went unnaturally empty, and he slumped to the ground, and vanished into a golden star.  
  
NiGHTS didn't watch as the star burst into light, or as the pink explosions from the coin drew ever closer. He lay with his eyes closed, and wondered how many people would get the lives back that night - 


	9. The Growth

NiGHTS Into Dreams  
Chapter 9 - The Growth  
  
-Notes-  
  
Well, that was a long time, wasn't it? Chapter Ten will be the last chapter, and it will be out by the end of the year. After that, I don't think I'll be continuing any NiGHTS fics. It was fun but I've pretty much lost interest in writing fanfics. I've been working on my own projects instead.  
  
I apologize if there's errors in consistency and things like that. I haven't gone over the story in a while, and I'd been adding to Chapter 9 bit by bit until finally I just sat down here one night and fired out the rest of the chapter. I know I had to go back to confirm certain happenings, but there may be some things I didn't know about -   
  
Sooo - Chapter 9. Not much to say. Some parts I'm not happy with, some I think turned out pretty well.  
  
Anyways, enjoy! Sorry for the wait.  
-Whirlwynd/Cerulean Lee  
  
---  
  
The city was still rather busy for the hour. The sky was clear, but the stars had only become tiny breaks in a silent, inky sky. A wintery wind wrapped the tallest of the towers and sent shivers through their golden peaks. As one angry pedestrian finished shaking his fist at a bus, which was righting itself from a hazardous turn with loud squeals, he thought he saw the air waver, almost invisibly, but with the strength of a stormy ocean. He quickly forgot about the bus, and with a shudder, headed on his way.  
  
"The transformation has already begun, and they can barely see the changes in their own world - it is strange how these people claim to live in reality when they are really blinded by fantasy they create -"  
  
The voice was all-too-familiar to NiGHTS - but different. Weak and whispering, but it still had that driving ambition behind it. Why he was hearing anything at the moment was beyond his reason; he was certain after the attack he used he would never live to see another dream. He curled his fist, his fingers sticking to a smooth floor, chilled by the cold wind he could feel blowing for miles away from him.   
  
His senses were returning to him, and he was painfully made aware that the wounds from the last battle were still there. He pushed away from the floor, not enough to float, but just so he could see where he was.  
  
The first thing he saw was a blue pillar. And another, and three more, all in a circle around him. He only stared at them, blankly. Emotion tried to surface, but was drowned in old Nightmaren reflex that he could not control in the state he was in.  
  
"Welcome back to my world."  
  
No more reflexes could have buried the anger raised by that voice. "Where are you?" he demanded hoarsely.  
  
"The nightmares are arriving in this world little by little. I thank you, NiGHTS, for providing the energy for this transformation. Now you can see it up close."  
  
"How? The Ideya - were freed -"  
  
"A very challenging task it was for you, but all for nothing. Most of those Ideya you released no longer have dreamers. It was easy to recapture them."  
  
"What have you done with them - ?"  
  
The voice paused, and gave a short laugh. "Those human dreamers? They are sound asleep. Nothing will happen to them that will not happen to every other creature in this realm."  
  
"NOTHING will happen to this realm."  
  
"You don't believe that."  
  
NiGHTS' jewel suddenly flickered with a pang of light, and he shot up above the floor. A faint, purple-eyed hand swooped in front of him.  
  
"If you move an inch outside this Ideya Palace before the transformation is complete, you will be in violation of the laws of the NHC."  
  
He stared down the hand, and flew past it. The gem's light grew stronger, but quickly faded out as he was hurtled backwards and to the floor.  
  
"What IS it you are trying to accomplish, NiGHTS?" The hand settled in front of him again. The eye's faint violet tones were half amused, half curious. "If you showed a little respect for your creator like you had before, you could still be part of this."  
  
"None of us would exist if it weren't for these dreamers. Why don't you understand that?"  
  
"Are you trying to save this world?"  
  
NiGHTS glanced over the darkening scenery. "Yes," he said at last. "I am."  
  
This drew a long, wispy laugh. "This world is not worth "saving", as you would say, then. Why do you think we've gained control of Nightopia? Because there are no more dreamers. They have been crushed. You are fighting for no one."  
  
"YOU crushed them!" NiGHTS shouted.  
  
"So did you."  
  
NiGHTS' eyes grew a fiery twilight purple. "As long as there are dreamers, they will not let you destroy the remaining dreams."  
  
Wizeman said nothing else, and the hand slipped away.   
  
The lights of the city were so far below that Claris was surprised she could see, but, keeping in mind that it was a dream, she didn't care much. Especially since she had managed to escape - wherever she had been last. She couldn't remember very well. Flashes of light, looming, extinguishing darkness. It was not happy that she had gotten away, and she realized after she escaped, she could still feel the cruelty and rage of the dark entity. It had finally gone awhile ago. She heard the final screams of the entity, and then it had been extinguished in a pink light she imagined couldn't have been much brighter than a supernova.   
  
Afterwards, she had been so relieved that she hadn't realized she was walking in midair. She approached the Twin Seeds Tower, giggling to herself as she wondered what someone would do if they happened to look out the window and see her. Coming closer, she saw that someone was looking out at her - but it wasn't the tower as she remembered it.   
  
She stopped as a horrible feeling washed over her. What she was seeing in front of her was not supposed to be there, a tear in the fabric of reality. She had heard of such things in fantasy books, but never had she thought the sight of it would be so disturbing.  
  
Still, she felt herself drawn towards it - something familiar was there - There was a chunk of the tower missing, and in its place, an Ideya Palace. Someone knelt on the floor inside.  
  
"NiGHTS!" Claris cried.  
  
She rushed towards him. He looked hopeful, but alarmed.  
  
A slight breeze blew through the calm night. She might not have noticed it except it was so cold. She slowed, watching to see what NiGHTS was doing as a guide.  
  
There was a fog between them, a clear-cut, slightly illuminated, dry fog that streatched far above her head.  
  
The hope drained from NiGHTS' face, and Claris felt a wave of cold fear she could not have even imagined before. A rush of images tore their way into her mind. Something that should have been a memory, but she knew it wasn't, and if she had witnessed all these terrible things she would not be living in the happy world she knew.  
  
The happy world - the Ideal. She tried to remember it - a specific flower, the sky, the trees, anything - but she could only see a landscape of drained color, broken, bleeding a foul black poison into all the stony people - malicious laughter ripping the Nightopian music to shreds and replacing it with its own discordant song.   
  
Terror-stricken, Claris collapsed on the invisible path and screamed. The path trembled and glowed with the sound, and shattered. She plummeted from the sky.  
  
The city light from below grew brighter and brighter. Claris watched helplessly as the floors of the tower sped by, still paralyzed by the images that had been sent to her. She wanted them out, searching for something else to focus on, but the world wheeled around her. She remembered the same thing happening, but in the other direction, up.  
  
Flight. She remembered flight.  
  
Elliot had seen her fall below the thin clouds, attacked beforehand by a monstrous, foggy figure that he had hoped would not realize where he was. He himself didn't know where he was. It looked like Twin Seeds, but he was standing on an island in the air. Islands didn't float in the air.  
  
'It must still be a dream,' he thought, 'Something isn't right, though -'  
  
He then saw something pink spiraling into the sky. Squinting, he noticed that it was the same girl that had just fallen from the top of the tower! She seemed human from where he was -  
  
'I can't do that - can I?'  
  
She was headed towards the top of the tower, where a piece was missing. There he saw something purple. A familiar call came to him when he saw it, a call so strong that he didn't think twice before diving off the side of the island.  
  
He fell below the clouds like she had. Going up seemed natural to him now, as soon as he lifted he head he careened back into the sky, up towards the tower with incredible speed.  
  
The girl was still there, pounding on something that gave an iridescent flash with each strike. He headed in her direction, but suddenly a flood of balloons from below threw him off course. He righted himself and stared down at the street. He could hear dance music, faintly, and people cheering. It was a bit heartening, but better yet, it made him feel somewhat stronger.  
  
"Hey," he said as he approached the girl.  
  
She whirled, her childish face full of worry. Elliot started. Now that he was closer, he could see five Ideya circling around her.  
  
"You're the other -" they started.  
  
"What are you doing with NiGHTS?" he asked.  
  
"Trying to get him out! It's not working!" She pounded on the field again. "We have to help him. You know that, right?"  
  
Elliot tried the same strategy, pounding on the invisible field, but it only flashed for him as well. Claris joined in, while NiGHTS looked on, his eyes darting all over the place as if he were watching for someone.  
  
Both their fists hit the barrier at once, and the flash was followed by a long shudder from the field. The dreamers glanced at each other, then started in on the field in a synchronized rhythm. The barrier blinked and gave a computer-like chime, and shattered. The shards vanished into the air.  
  
"NiGHTS!" the two exclaimed, rushing over to him.  
  
"What happened?" Claris asked, noticing NiGHTS' condition. "Where did you go - ?"  
  
They helped him stand up. "That's not important now," he groaned. "Wizeman is about to break through! He returned to the nightmares to complete his transformation. We have to stop him right away!"  
  
"How?" Elliot asked.  
  
NiGHTS stared up at the top of the tower, then at each of the dreamers. "I - I don't know."  
  
The thought of him facing his creator - it was impossible. The scenario had crossed his mind when he had been released from the first Ideya Palace, but he had no idea how he would possibly make it through. Wizeman was far more powerful than he could ever be. He felt fear again, but it was not from the dreamers. They were confused, concerned, but not afraid. This fear was coming from himself, stronger than anything his Nightmaren mind would let him feel.  
  
The dreamers' Ideya floated close to him, as if they were trying to comfort him. The dreamers themselves might have been directing the energy at him inadvertedly. The red ones came especially close, and when they did, he felt a little better. Almost a bit stronger.  
  
And as he watched their brilliant red light retreat back to their dreamers, and the fear came rushing back, he suddenly realized why the red Ideya was so powerful.   
  
Up until he met Claris and Elliot, he had never known what true fear was like. There was nothing for him to be afraid of, it was a ridiculous concept. But now that he knew what it was like, he knew just how much power it took to overcome that fear. Courage was what these dreamers had, what they had used to save him, and it was the power that could lead them all to victory where he alone could not.  
  
"I've got it," he said.  
  
A bright beam shined down from above, lifting them into the air, right through the top of the tower and into darkness.   
  
They floated there in blackness for a while. NiGHTS' voice echoed in the dreamers' heads. "Wizeman is near. Your universe is depending on you two, so you must be strong."  
  
"Wait, what about you?" Elliot said.  
  
"You're not leaving us to face him alone, are you?" Claris said.  
  
"Of course not. I'll be with you, but not like you will expect. Don't be afraid - I know you two have the power to win."  
  
They didn't like how he was talking about the battle ahead, but they had long since learned to trust him when they felt uncertain about his motives.   
  
A bright flash occurred, and the two were floating in the air, facing each other.  
  
"NiGHTS?" they asked in unison.  
  
Both were facing - NiGHTS. They looked at their hands, which, they found, were NiGHTS', and then back at the other NiGHTS in front of them. "What is going on?" Claris looked all around.  
  
The two tried contacting him through their minds, but wound up talking to each other instead. "We - are NiGHTS," Elliot replied at last.  
  
"But -" Claris started, then looked around again. "Do you get the feeling we're being watched?"  
  
He did feel it, and she knew it. She could sense this strange boy's feelings, his thoughts, just as easily as she had done with NiGHTS, and he was the same. But it didn't seem all that strange - like they had know each other for a very long time.  
  
Then, Claris saw the fog again.  
  
"Watch out!" she screamed.  
  
A burst of frigid energy sent both of them tumbling backwards. NiGHTS' air-bound form reacted a lot better than they would have, though, and they steadied themselves quickly.   
  
They saw their surroundings now, a broken, haunted place filled with glowing dust. A short distance away they saw something that made their blood run cold. A tall, cloaked entity with six hands floating around it. In each hand was an eye. NiGHTS mind recognized it for them. "That's - that's Wizeman?" Claris gasped. "He was that fog I saw -"  
  
"Somehow, I was expecting something shorter," Elliot replied nervously.  
  
"This is an interesting trick you've done," Wizeman chuckled, "but useless. Wait -" One of the hands moved in on Claris, and the eye glowed. "So our dreamers are here as well. Have you been enjoying your stay in nightmares?"  
  
"The service was a little hostile for my tastes," Elliot shot back, though his nervousness was poorly disguised.  
  
"You will never have to return once I take your Ideya."  
  
They realized too late that Wizeman had been charging some kind of energy with his other hands, and it came at them in yellow fire. They barely made it out of the way, and flew straight at Wizeman. 'Did NiGHTS show you this?' Claris asked Elliot, spinning into a drill.   
  
'Yeah, I gotcha!' He did the same.  
  
The two smacked into a forcefield. Wizeman turned into a shadow, swooping past the two and causing them to spin out of control. A deep cold came over them, but faded as the distance between him and the two dreamers grew.   
  
They faced a series of obstacles - a field of meteorites, blinding snow, more fire. Whatever Wizeman willed, it was in their way. Whatever it took to stall them long enough so he could become real.  
  
Claris noticed each time he changed his attack, the nightmare itself would change, except for a giant pillar that always seemed to be to their side. She followed it up, far, far, up, and saw something glowing on the top.  
  
A boulder of snow went by, sending her into a spin. "You'd better pay attention," Elliot warned her.  
  
She ignored him, flying to the top of the pillar, where she found a glowing blue sphere with a star in it. 'It's the sub-crystal!'  
  
'Sub-crystal? Where?' Elliot asked.  
  
'Up here.' Claris sent him a mental picture. 'Keep handy-man busy. I think if I take the sub-crystal, he won't be able to attack with all these elements he's using.'  
  
Next to the sub-crystal, she saw something yellow, with pink wings. It was a coin, with a tiny pink and blue symbol on it. She picked it up and examined it closely.  
  
"Hey! Elliot hollered. "Hurry up! I need some help down here!"  
  
She tossed him the coin.  
  
"Oh great. Thanks. What's this supposed to do?"  
  
"Just hold onto it!"  
  
She vanished from sight on the top of the pillar. Elliot was about to toss the coin when he noticed the symbol on it. "It's one of these things again," he muttered. "I wonder what it does - well, anything could help right now -"  
  
It popped with a burst of gold sparks. The sparks spread all over the broken realm -  
  
Claris had just touched the sub-crystal when she noticed the sparks filling the air. The next thing she knew, the whole nightmare was filled with Nightopians, fluttering straight towards Wizeman. Some were smacked aside by the elements, but there were too many for all to be caught.  
  
"How did you get in here?!" Wizeman seethed, directing his energy at the tiny creatured.  
  
They all panicked, screaming and flying every which way, sometimes running right into each other. Elliot looked around for Tope. If he had been summoned, maybe he could take some sense into the little creatures and get them to be a more organized help. But if he had been there, there was no way Elliot would have been able to tell him apart from the others.  
  
Wizeman suddenly stopped his attacks. He looked at the top of the column. "The sub-crystal - where is it?!"  
  
"I got it!" Claris yelled, flying down to Elliot.   
  
Elliot grinned triumphantly. "Now we'll destroy this so you can't use your powers anymore."  
  
Wizeman smiled. It was a frightening sight. "My dear child, do you believe that the sub-crystal is the source or my power?"  
  
Wind howled, and a tornado came out of nowhere and flung Claris through the air. She smashed into the pillar, cracking it. The sub-crystal landed next to her. Elliot hurried over. "You all right?"  
  
"I - I think so," she said, wobbling as she stood up. Elliot could feel in her mind that she wasn't as well as she wanted him to believe, but at the moment it didn't matter. "What are we going to do now?" she whimpered.  
  
Elliot stared up at Wizeman, who kept his distance, concentrating on his own transformation. "NiGHTS - he mentioned something about a power we have."  
  
"Ideya, right?"  
  
"Right. I think we have to use these Ideya somehow."  
  
"But how?"  
  
It echoed in their minds through NiGHTS again. They had to accept the Ideya. They had to feel each aspect of the Ideya for themselves. They had to understand that they were powerful dreamers, with beautiful dreams that were not meant to die here. It went so clearly through their minds that it was that much easier for them to understand.  
  
They stood across from each other. Their Ideya emerged and began to swirl around them, faster and fasted until they were engulfed in rainbow spheres. Wizeman jerked back in alarm, speaking words the two didn't understand, a sound that was lost as the Ideya gave off whirling crackles, spreading a blinding light through the nightmares, brighter and brighter until all there was was white. 


	10. The Awakening

Notes

It's been a long time. Almost four years since the last update, looks like, and eight since this was started.

Where have I been? I kinda fell out of writing fanfics, concentrating on my original works instead, but the announcement of Journey of Dreams jumpstarted my interest in NiGHTS fanfiction again. Instead of starting from scratch, though, I decided to finish something I started for once and get the last chapter here done.

I doubt it's the ending I originally planned, but I couldn't find most of my notes on it if I made any, so I just went with what I felt like writing. In any case, I have not yet played Journey of Dreams, and I wanted to finish this before I saw the actual storyline and saw how inaccurate my version of events is XD Once I do play it, I've decided to rework this fanfic as a comic. I will be putting it up on DrunkDuck, so look me up as Whirlwynd there if you're interested. (I'd post the link to my profile but FFN won't let me.)

- you can also take a look at those original projects that eat up all my time.

For those of you that stuck around, sorry for the wait. I hope it was worth it.

Chapter 10

_The Awakening_

Wind screamed in Elliot's ears, pressure shook and warped the world around him, crushing him. Wizeman's final strike, a dream on the verge of collapse. He could do nothing but try to guard himself. He ducked down and tucked his head behind his arms.

Seconds later, the chaos vanished, and pressure suddenly gave way to a vastness he could picture even before he looked at it. Soothing warmth blew in a breeze around him, bird calls filled the air and echoed in the distance. He saw a lush valley, a mirror-smooth lake and crystalline mountains pointing their tips into a river of pastel clouds. He was speechless. This was exactly what came to his mind when he thought of Nightopia.

As he lowered his arms, he noticed that they were no longer sleeved. The leaves on a small bush nearby rustled, and out of the corner of his eye, Elliot thought he saw something sparkle. It flashed white, flowing, like pinwheel shreds in the wind. At first, he couldn't remember where he had seen such a sight before. Then an image popped into his head. It was distant, as if it were someone else's imagination, but clear enough to recognize the subject.

What happened to the girl?

Unless she had woken up already, he thought, she could be somewhere in this world. He carefully scanned the grassy hill in front of him. A Nightopian raced by, drawing his attention. There was a tree, sitting where the a hill rose sharply out of the ground. In front of the tree, just beyond the reach of its flickering shadows, he saw a pinkish shape. The girl was lying motionless in the grass.

His heart sank. He remembered the tornado, the loud crack the pillar made as she flew into it, the sick feeling she tried to hide afterwards. Dreams can't hurt us, Elliot thought. She has to be all right. She has to be.

The valley blurred as he ran. He considered the idea that it could be another nightmare, that the girl would turn into one of those foggy red-eyed Nightmaren as soon as he got close, but it didn't happen. He reached her and leaned over. He opened his mouth to call her name. Then it hit him. When they were connected with NiGHTS, they were connected to each other as well. It was like they had known each other for all their lives. With that bond shattered, he couldn't even remember her name.

He saw her shoulders heave as she let out a small sigh, and he smiled. At least she was alive. She didn't even look hurt, just asleep. He didn't think it was a good idea to leave her out in the sun, though, so he scooped her up and set her near the base of the tree, in the deep shade. She looked peaceful.

Suddenly, he felt a jolt. The world grew distant. His own hand caught his eye. It was fading away. That was pointless, he thought. It's just a dream after all.

He turned, taking one last look at the other dreamer.

Claris opened her eyes just in time to see him fade away. She sat up sharply and called out to him, but her voice, seconds too late anyway, came out as empty breath.

The breeze blew around her, hollow and clean. The sun drifted behind the clouds, the valley sat empty and lifeless. Even if the other dreamer left, NiGHTS should be around somewhere, right? She felt alone, removed from the immediate past. The valley was reflecting this back at her. Claris hung her head.

She couldn't remember the end of the battle with Wizeman. She wondered if she survived.

A loud chirp startled her. Tall grass nearby rustled, and she tensed. She felt her heart jump to life. She was alive after all, and now she prepared to face a Nightmaren alone.

Then, she noticed a group of flesh-colored points poking above the grassline, a miniature mountain range. A few pairs of beady eyes peered between the broad blades. She stared back, bleak. It wasn't worth talking to them. She would scare them off again.

One of the Nightopians rattled off a string of squeaks and trills, and its wings buzzed, lifting it over the grass. The others pushed through, and the three floated to Claris, who watched in amazement. She twisted herself slowly, experimentally, raising her hand. They didn't so much as flinch.

As if to answer all the questions in her head, her Ideya passed into her line of vision. The red light was there, just as brilliant as the others, and they chased each other around in circles. One of the Nightopians imitated them, circling her feet. She could not help but smile at them, and the memory of Tope's explanation.

"They run from you because you're missing Ideya, and the one you have left is pushed away. You have not shown courage, but you have the potential to do so."

The bright sunlight never left Elliot's eyes, but instead of shining over mountaintops now, it poured in over the skyscrapers, illuminating his room. He felt like he had been away for a long time, the same way he felt after he came back from a couple weeks at basketball camp, only this time he hadn't had time to say goodbye to his friends. He didn't know whether to be relieved or sad.

Whether or not the world had really been threatened, it was the same as it ever was now. Wasn't it? Elliot sat up and looked around, listening. Colors were a little brighter. The sounds on the street weren't stressed or rushed. He heard laughter, people calling out to one another. He shook his head. It was just because today was the beginning of the centennial festivities. A coincidence. The dream had just vivid, that was all. At least it had a happy ending.

A chill went down his spine as he caught sight above the torn poster above his desk. He tried to pull it off the wall the night before, but in his anger he had only ripped it. The strip that had come off lay crumpled in a ball in front of his wastebasket.

The game was today.

It didn't seem like such a big deal, compared to the dream he'd just had, but logically, that had only been a dream. When he noticed his alarm clock hadn't gone off yet, it helped him remember that. He turned the face of the clock towards him, let out a yelp, and sprang out of bed. Over the commotion in the street, he heard his friends yelling. Minutes later the three of them were running down the street, dodging fire hydrants and city workers setting up more decorations along the sidewalks.

"So what did you want me to do? My little sister broke my alarm clock!" Chris panted, ducking under a ladder. The worker on the top, winding garland around a gutter, yelled at them. Elliot swore he saw him smiling.

Reid wasn't the least bit happy. "Hey, watch where you're going! Walking under a ladder is bad luck!"

"Technically, he ran under it," Elliot pointed out. "We can't count on being lucky, guys, we need some kind of strategy. We aren't going to get any practice in now."

"Shortest guy in the NBA, Elliot, that's all you gotta remember. Just get some Spudd Webb going up there."

"The shortest player in the NBA was Muggsy Bogues, dork," Chris snickered.

"Whatever!"

Elliot smirked. "These aren't NBA players. We can win."

The other team was there, streaking across the court in blurs of brown and yellow. Without opposition, their efforts were seamless. Elliot felt a twinge as he watched the ball fly through the air with such precision. It was familiar in more than one way now.

"At least the weather's nice," Chris muttered, shielding his eyes from the sun.

Reid looked balefully at Elliot. "So you got any plans, or what?"

Elliot clenched a fist. He was thinking about the game, but his mind was overwhelmed by images of his dreams. The bright red hue of the courage Ideya tinted the world. In his mind, he was glowing with it. He felt light, eager, and inspired, as if he could lift right out of his shoes. "You guys know what we've gotta do." He stepped onto the court and pointed at the other team. "Let's go."

Claris' eyelids felt stone-heavy. She was startled by her own waking, by the sudden influx of real sunlight and the dusty, dry air in the room. She closed her eyes again, trying to catch one last glimpse of the gleaming Nightopian landscape while it was fresh in her mind. The energy she felt from it was incredible. They had done it. They saved the world.

It was a ridiculous thought, especially the more of the dream she remembered. A purple jester, conehead angels, floating windmills? This is the kind of stuff she would dream about when she was five, not fifteen. When she looked at the Twin Dreams poster on her wall, though, the audition didn't seem so bad. She refused to ignore the dream's imagery, the pride and encouragement she felt from them.

It was harder to hold onto that as Claris came closer to the tower. She wore her school uniform again, even though there was no school today. Her mother had insisted she wear something else, to "stand out," but the uniform connected her back to her dreams. Still, as she ventured into the shadow of the building, her memory began to erode. She took a deep breath as she crossed into the building.

Shoes stamped and scraped the pavement. Its concrete colors simmered under the September sun. The boys in brown wouldn't let up for a moment, they shifted around the court, their plays changing fast and fluid. To Elliot's relief, they weren't laughing today. His team was putting up a good resistance. Faces flashed past, pinched at the edges, red and shining. A crowd began to gather outside the fence. Vaguely, Elliot recalled that there was supposed to be a parade today along the same street. At first it was only a few kids watching, bored waiting for the parade to start. They cheered as the score went up and up, side by side, and then their parents joined in. They were encouraging their children but soon their cheers were genuine, blending to a roar with each tricky flip of the ball, every layup and soaring basket. "These are high school kids?" he heard one spectator exclaim as he raced by. "You're kidding! They have to practice 24 hours a day to get this good!"

It came down to the final point. Neither team stopped, even to wipe the sweat from their eyes. Elliot's breath chafed his throat, his hands shook. Chris and Reid tossed the ball back and forth, unable to break away from their looming defenders. Chris gave a slight, almost imperceptible nod, and Elliot dodged off the tip of one shoe and rounded his own defender, the tall kid with the french-fry hair. Chris flipped the ball behind his back, and Elliot guided it into possession with his fingertips.

His defender rushed to overshadow him. Elliot felt adrenaline surge. He ran to meet the other player, bouncing the ball once before lifting it into their air and following it. He felt lighter and lighter. He sailed above the concrete, above the other players, farther and farther up until he felt beyond gravity's reach, beyond the rules of reality. He reached the hoop and jammed the ball through it, and dropped effortlessly to the ground.

The crowd screamed with delight. Time had frozen on the court. Both his teammates and the boys in brown gawked at him, as if he had sprouted wings to get to the basket. "I thought you said you couldn't reach the hoop," Chris said.

"Yeah, what'd you put in your Wheaties this morning?" Reid beamed.

"That was amazing, kid!" French fry guy yelled. "Let's see it again!"

The other boys in brown clamored in agreement. They were grinning, despite that it looked like half the city had witnessed their loss.

"You're saying you want a rematch?" Elliot said, also grinning.

His whole future spread before him like a long beach. He cheered with the crowd as the teams converged on him.

Claris stood shaded by the wing curtains. The spotlight on the girl before her barely reached her, and the darkness was so thick she felt like she was breathing it. It settled heavy in her lungs, closed her throat. The other girl raised an arm dramatically, her tinny voice squeaking a note offkey, and beyond the judges shifted uncomfortably. They did not look at all pleased - in fact, Claris swore the director was sleeping - and an extra knot tied in her stomach.

A gruff voice called, "Next!"

The room twisted before her eyes. She felt faint. Would fainting be worse than running away? Either way it would be certain she wouldn't pass the audition. What happened to the energy she felt earlier?

She closed her eyes. She willed Nightopia back again, the lush green below and the open blue above, bright sparks of corrupted dreams bursting and cleansing the world of the shadows they brought in. A brilliant shade of red filled the darkness behind her eyelids. She imagined she was surrounded with it, that it flowed up around her in sparks. The music started as she walked to center stage. Echoes of the Nightopian song rhymed with the melodies. Her voice was barely containable. There were no monsters here. This was reality, and there was no one getting in her way but herself.

After all the agonizing moments she had approached the stage, she finally got her chance. Her voice rang out over the music, leading it. The music connected her the most to her dreams. It stood out against the hard nature of reality, it gave all that could hear it a glimpse of the dreams of their own, inspired them to make them come true. The director sat bolt upright and lifted his cap above his eyes. The judges expressions were vacant, stunned. One nudged the other. "I told you I had a feeling about her."

Her song trailed off neatly, like an elaborate signature. The director clapped enthusiastically. "Great!" was all he could manage. It was clear he felt more than that.

Claris smiled in the warm spotlight, all fears erased.

Confetti poured from the sky like snow. Loud pops filled the streets as rainbow fires bloomed across the deep blue sky. Music from the Twin Dreams musical played in a march over the parade. Reid and Elliot turned onto their block, and they gave each other a high five as before heading their separate ways. As Elliot turned towards his apartment, he heard the parade spectators cheer. He hadn't seen one person without a smile on the way back, and he spent a moment watching the parade too.

He was standing by Seeds Tower. There was a sign advertising the performance of the Twin Dreams musical, which would be shown several times during the week. It was simpler than most musicals he'd heard of, in fact, it was more like a concert than a play. It was so well-known by Twin Seeds residents that final auditions were held the same days as the performance.

He gazed at the top of the tower, his dreams standing water at the edges of his memory. He would have to see what the city really looked like from above, at night. He was just wondering what the observation deck hours were when a face appeared.

Elliot gasped. He thought it was a hallucination. He had just played one of the most intense games of his life without stopping for a drink. But the face smiled and became clearer, indigo eyes framed in a jester hat. Just like in his dreams, he was connected again. He knew someone was waiting for him inside the tower.

He stepped into the auditorium. A few people glanced back, urging him with annoyed faces to close the doors. Light, flitting voices filled the air in front of him, plucking notes. His heart stopped when his eyes finally adjusted to the scene on stage.

The other dreamer stood on a glass pedestal, alone in the center of the stage, surrounded by twirling crystal props. The white dress she was wearing shimmered like pure snow, her hair, brilliant rose in the spotlight, was wrapped down in a headband. Elliot's head swam. The iridescence of the stage astounded him, but he was sure he was awake. The sight of her with her eyes closed brought him right back to his dream, though. It was as if she had never awakened.

And then she was awake, and her eyes locked with his. Her voice seeped into the song and overtook it. Drawn by the voice, Elliot ran down the aisle, stopping at the edge of the stage. He had heard this song hundreds of times, but before now its wordless melodies had no meaning. He now knew where this song had come from, and how ancient it was.

He saw the other dreamer beyond the glitter of the set, beyond her costume, standing against the mountains. They appeared the same way that night. They smiled quietly, a little stunned.

"Nice to meet the real you," Elliot said.

Claris giggled.

White glitter began to dust the scene away. Darkness fell suddenly, and they stood back to back, but they were no longer afraid. They were ready this time. A glittering blue mist surrounded them, and a vague purple shape came through it. "NiGHTS," Claris breathed. "You're OK!"

He offered a sad, voiceless smile.

A voice came into their minds. It didn't take them long to understand that it wasn't NiGHTS that was talking, but that sparkling mist. "NiGHTS," it said, "You have put these dreamers in harm's way. For this you should be punished."

"What are you talking about?" Elliot asked angrily.

The mist forced a picture into his mind. Claris hit her head on a pillar, and she lay unconscious in the valley afterwards. "Dreams had already begun to merge with reality," it said. "You could have been killed."

Claris shivered. While the danger in the battle had seemed very real to her, she never thought she could be hurt then and there. Elliot looked shocked.

"However," the mist continued. "I am not suitable to punish, even a Nightmaren. And because of you, NiGHTS, and you two dreamers, I am saved. If you choose to continue guarding me, I will ask no more of you, and you will be free of the nightmares."

"Who are you?" Elliot demanded.

The mist seemed to smile. "I am Nightopia, the collective conscience of the dreamers of light."

Once again, the dreamers were stunned into silence. NiGHTS was also silent, thinking. Freedom from nightmares? He was skeptical, but this was the consciousness of all dreamers. They could make it happen, they had the power to shape his world. After a moment's deliberation, he accepted.

"I am so very grateful," the mist said as it faded. "Please keep dreaming. You don't know how important it is."

They did.

NiGHTS flew into the Nightopian sky, over the moon in Twin Seeds and back, one with the air. He settled on the tower, gazing at the horizon, and brought the kaetru to his mouth. Nightopia's words roamed his mind. Free. Freedom. An even sweeter word than courage, he thought, a dream of his own come true.


End file.
